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Overview
The 1893 World's Parliament of Religions was much more than a religious assembly. It was conceived as a presentation of the major religious forces at work in the late nineteenth century. The goal of the Parliament was "to unite all religion against irreligion," and many observers celebrated that spirit. Some saw the Parliament as a sign of the coming fulfillment of missionaries' hope to evangelize the world, but others saw it as a disaster for missionaries. Some thought it proved the superiority of Christianity; others saw a victory for the religions of the East. Some thought the Parliament pointed toward the coming unity of all Christians, while for others it seemed a revelation of the forces dividing Christendom. Seager's beautifully fashioned narrative explores this fascinating event in all its complexities and establishes it as truly a watershed event in the emergence of a more pluralistic religious culture in America.Editorials
Booknews
Seager (religion, Harvard U.) locates the end of Protestant triumphalism in America and the beginning of 20th-century religious pluralism at a moment in 1893 when the American people saw, on a stage in Chicago, a Greek Orthodox archbishop, a Chinese Confucian scholar, a Shinto priest, a Buddhist from Ceylon, a Hindu, Asian Christians, and other representatives of then exotic and unknown religions, each dressed in their traditional religious garb. He explores how the gathering was called to unite the world's religious forces against irreligion, how the public reacted to it, and how people from the various religions interpreted it. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)Book Details
Published
November 1, 1994
Publisher
Bloomington : Indiana University Press, c1995.
Pages
160
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780253351371