Exploring a range of philosophical and religious thought from Greco-Roman "philia" to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, from Hinduism in India to Buddhism and the religions of China and Japan, the authors find that altruism becomes problematic when applied to religious studies because it is, in fact, a concept absent from religion. Chapters on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam reveal that followers of these religions cannot genuinely perform self-sacrificing acts because God has promised to reward every good deed. Moreover, the separation between the self and the other that self-sacrifice necessarily implies, runs counter to Buddhist thought, which makes no such distinction.
By challenging our assumptions about the act of self-sacrifice as it relates to religious teachings, the authors show altruism to be more of a secular than religious notion. At the same time, their findings highlight how charitable acts operate with the values and structures of the religions studied.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Preface Introduction: Altruism and the Study of Religion William Scott Green 1. Altruism in Greco-Roman Philosophy Robert M. Berchman 2. Altruism in Classical Judaism Jacob Neusner and Alan J. Avery-Peck 3. Altruism in Christianity Bruce Chilton 4. Altruism in Islam Th. Emil Homerin 5. Altruism in Classical Buddhism Todd Lewis 6. Altruism in Contemporary Buddhism: Thich Nhat Hanh's Socially Engaged Buddhism Bradley S. Clough 7. Altruism in Japanese Religions: The Case of Nichiren Buddhism Ruben L. F. Habito 8. Altruism in Classical Hinduism Richard H. Davis 9. Altruism in Chinese Religions Mark Csikszentmihalyi Epilogue William Scott Green Contributors Acknowledgements Index
