Purification

Description

In the religions of the world, there is strongemphasis on the practice of "purification" for the religious transformation ofmind and body in connection with achieving such ultimate objectives asenlightenment and salvation. The contributors discuss the great diversity offorms and meanings with respect to religious transformation in their respectivefields of research. While invoking earlier debates within the study ofreligions and theology on the topic of "purification" the studies in thisvolume penetrate further into the meaning and structure of religioustransformation of mind and body in the religions of the world and opencomparative perspectives on this topic.

Gerhard Marcel Martin is retired Professor for Practical Theology at the University of Marburg, Germany. Katja Triplett is Professor for the Study of East Asian Religions at the University of Goettingen, Germany.

The book's greater strength lies in the conceptual landscape which emerges when viewing the essays en masse. Common themes and preoccupations emerge in relief as it becomes clear that - regardless of religious tradition - concepts such as mental purification are prominent and important. This, in turn, allows scholars of religion to appreciate the role that the concept of purification plays in religious expression, and thereby give a comparative religious analysis from a new - and vital - vantage point. -- Joseph McGarry, St Margaret's Anglican Church, New Zealand * Theological Book Review *