K xviii Encyclopedia of Islam
in which all may live freely and pursue visions of
the highest values the cosmos provides.
In creating these encyclopedias, the attempt
has been made to be comprehensive if not exhaus-
tive. As space allows, in approximately 800 entries,
each author has attempted to define and explain
the basic terms used in talking about the religion,
make note of definitive events, introduce the
most prominent figures, and highlight the major
organizations. The coverage is designed to result
in both a handy reference tool for the religious
scholar/specialist and an understandable work
that can be used fruitfully by anyone—a student,
an informed lay person, or a reader simply want-
ing to look up a particular person or idea.
Each volume includes several features. They
begin with an essay that introduces the particular
tradition and provides a quick overview of its his-
torical development, the major events and trends
that have pushed it toward its present state, and
the mega-problems that have shaped it in the con-
temporary world.
A chronology lists the major events that have
punctuated the religion’s history from its origin to
the present. The chronologies differ somewhat in
emphasis, given that they treat two very ancient
faiths that both originated in prehistoric time, sev-
eral more recent faiths that emerged during the last
few millennia, and the most recent, Protestantism,
that has yet to celebrate its 500-year anniversary.
The main body of each encyclopedia is consti-
tuted of the approximately 800 entries, arranged
alphabetically. These entries include some 200
biographical entries covering religious figures of
note in the tradition, with a distinct bias to the
19th and 20th centuries and some emphasis on
leaders from different parts of the world. Special
attention has been given to highlighting female
contributions to the tradition, a factor often
overlooked, as religion in all traditions has until
recently been largely a male-dominated affair.
Geographical entries cover the development
of the movement in those countries and parts
of the world where the tradition has come todominate or form an important minority voice,
where it has developed a particularly distinct
style (often signaled by doctrinal differences), or
where it has a unique cultural or social presence.
While religious statistics are amazingly difficult
to assemble and evaluate, some attempt has been
made to estimate the effect of the tradition on the
selected countries.
In some cases, particular events have had a
determining effect on the development of the
different religious traditions. Entries on events
such as the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (for
Protestantism) or the conversion of King Asoka
(for Buddhism) place the spotlight on the fac-
tors precipitating the event and the consequences
flowing from it.
The various traditions have taken form as
communities of believers have organized struc-
tures to promote their particular way of belief and
practice within the tradition. Each tradition has a
different way of organizing and recognizing the
distinct groups within it. Buddhism, for example,
has organized around national subtraditions. The
encyclopedias give coverage to the major group-
ings within each tradition.
Each tradition has developed a way of encoun-
tering and introducing individuals to spiritual
reality as well as a vocabulary for it. It has also
developed a set of concepts and a language to
discuss the spiritual world and humanity’s place
within it. In each volume, the largest number
of entries explore the concepts, the beliefs that
flow from them, and the practices that they
have engendered. The authors have attempted to
explain these key religious concepts in a nontech-
nical language and to communicate their meaning
and logic to a person otherwise unfamiliar with
the religion as a whole.
Finally, each volume is thoroughly cross-
indexed using small caps to guide the reader to
related entries. A bibliography and comprehen-
sive index round out each volume.—J. Gordon Melton