An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism

An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism by Raymond Brady Williams

A comprehensive study of a modern form of Hinduism that is growing in the place of its birth in the Indian state of Gujarat and among Indian immigrants in east Africa, Great Britain, and the United States. It is the most prominent form of transnational Hinduism because it creates networks that define and preserve ethnic and religious identity in the modern context of rapid mobility and communication. Founded by Sahajanand Swami or Swaminarayan (1781–1830), a religious reformer in a time of great social and political change in Gujarat, Swaminarayan Hinduism expounds a path of devotion to Swaminarayan as the final, perfect manifestation of God. Raymond Brady Williams provides a detailed introduction to the history, theology, discipline, and ritual of this important form of Hinduism. Based on and extending, with considerable updating and revision, his A New Face of Hinduism: The Swaminarayan Religion (1984), the book places Swaminarayan in the context of transnational Hinduism and analyses its current status in India and abroad.

'A much-needed descriptive account' The Times Literary Supplement
'This work is most valuable as a reference source on the Swaminarayan movement.' The Journal of Asian Studies
'A book every Hindu would do well to read.' East and West Series

Williams, Raymond Brady: - Raymond Brady Williams is LaFollette Distinguished Professor in the Humanities emeritus and Professor of Religion (Chair) emeritus of Wabash College, Indiana. He began his research on Swaminarayan Hinduism in 1976 for books, including A New Face of Hinduism (Cambridge, 1984), An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism (Cambridge, 2001), and Swaminarayan Hinduism, editor (2016). His research on immigrants was published as Religions of Immigrants from India and Pakistan: New Threads in the American Tapestry (Cambridge, 1988) and Christian Pluralism in the United States: The Indian Immigrant Experience (Cambridge, 1996). He is the founder of the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion and the journal, Teaching Theology and Religion.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780521654227
ISBN 10	052165422X
Title	An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism
Author	Raymond Brady Williams
Series	Introduction To Religion
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Year published	2001-01-04
Number of pages	266
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable