Taoism For Dummies

Your hands-on guide to this widely practiced and ancient religion
Buddhism, one of the world’s most widely practiced religions, is a fascinating yet complex eastern religion that is rapidly spreading throughout western civilization. What does it mean to be a Buddhist? What are the fundamental beliefs and history behind this religion? Buddhism For Dummies explores these questions and more in this updated guide to Buddhist culture. You’ll gain an understanding of the origins of this ancient practice and how they’re currently applied to everyday life.

Whether you’re a searcher of truth, a student of religions, or just curious about what makes Buddhism such a widely practiced religion, this guide is for you. In plain English, it defines the important terms, explains the key concepts, and explores in-depth a wide range of fascinating topics.

New and expanded coverage on all the schools of Buddhism, including Theravada, Tibetan, and Mahayana
The continuing relevance of the Dalai Lama
Updated coverage on daily observances, celebrations, styles, practices, meditation, and more

Continuing the Dummies tradition of making the world’s religions engaging and accessible to everyone, Buddhism For Dummies is your essential guide to this fascinating religion.

The easy way to understand atheism and secular philosophy
For people seeking a non-religious philosophy of life, as well as believers with atheist friends, Atheism For Dummies offers an intelligent exploration of the historical and moral case for atheism. Often wildly misunderstood, atheism is a secular approach to life based on the understanding that reality is an arrangement of physical matter, with no consideration of unverifiable spiritual forces.

Atheism For Dummies offers a brief history of atheist philosophy and its evolution, explores it as a historical and cultural movement, covers important historical writings on the subject, and discusses the nature of ethics and morality in the absence of religion.

A simple, yet intelligent exploration of an often misunderstood philosophy
Explores the differences between explicit and implicit atheism
A comprehensive, readable, and thoroughly unbiased resource

As the number of atheists worldwide continues to grow, this book offers a broad understanding of the subject for those exploring atheism as an approach to living.

The first authoritative yet accessible guide to this broad and popular topic
Sociology is the study of human and societal interaction, and because society is constantly changing, sociology will always remain a crucial and relevant subject. Sociology For Dummies helps you understand this complex field, serving as the ideal study guide both when you’re deciding to take a class as well as when you are already participating in a course.

Provides a general overview of what sociology in as well as an in-depth look at some of the major concepts and theories
Offers examples of how sociology can be applied and its importance to everyday life
Avoiding jargon, Sociology For Dummies will get you up to speed on this widely studied topic in no time.

Lost Books of the Bible For Dummies is your one-stop guide to once-hidden works that add a new dimension to Biblical teachings. Most people have heard about the discovery of strange ancient religious writings that are not part the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament, such as the Gnostic Gospels. Now, you will find new insights and a fresh perspective on long-lost works that may have once been in the running for Biblical inclusion, but didn’t make the final cut.
This easy-to-understand guide examines the sometimes weird, provocative, and profoundly moving texts that have been “lost” as well as those hotly debated works that are in some Bibles and not others. You will come away with a clearer understanding of the Judeo-Christian religion and the development of the Biblical canon. You’ll learn about the origins of the Bible, explore early scriptures, and understand why translations affect the meanings of texts. You’ll even learn how the Greek influenced early Biblical writing.

Find out how to:

Explain what the term “lost books” means
Understand the definition of “canon”
Take translation differences into consideration
Divide early writings into style categories
Take another look at scripture with the Dead Sea Scrolls
See how the Greeks influenced early scripture
Decode apocalyptic visions

Complete with a list of ten of the weirdest Jewish lost books, ten of the weirdest Christian lost books, ten sayings of Jesus NOT in the Bible, and ten “lost books that every student of the Bible should read, Lost Books of the Bible For Dummies is your one-stop guide to understanding and reading the Biblical lost books.

The easy way to grasp the ins and outs of Catholicism
Catholicism For Dummies is not a catechism or religious textbook, but a casual, down-to-earth introduction for Catholics and non-Catholics. It gives commonsense explanations of Catholic weddings, Baptisms, funerals, Confirmations, and First Communions. You’ll also discover other important topics that can help you better understand the Catholic culture—from morality and devotions to worship and liturgy.

There are more than one billion Catholics in the world, and each one shares a foundational set of basic beliefs and practices that he or she follows. Some of the teachings of Catholicism are thousands of years old, while others are more recent. So what is the Catholic culture like and what do they believe? Catholicism For Dummies answers these and many other questions.

Various stances within American Catholicism today
Covers the death of John Paul II and the succession of Pope Benedict XVI, who has supported the return of the Latin Mass among congregations who desire to celebrate it
Expanded information on baptism, confirmation, and the other sacraments
New information about the priesthood and religious life today
Twenty-first-century issues and questions modern Catholics face, including gay marriage, abortion, and the death penalty

Catholicism For Dummies presents a rich tapestry and history of the Catholic faith—from devotions to doctrines. This intelligent and faithful look at Catholicism will open your eyes to this religion and answer many of the questions you may have about it.