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Religion

Selected Works

Buddhism

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Full-Text Articles in History

The New Atheists' Narrow World-View, Stephen Asma Jan 2011

The New Atheists' Narrow World-View, Stephen Asma

Stephen T Asma

The article discusses atheism, Buddhism, and the practice of animism in southeast Asia. Atheists such as Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris are discussed as is the argument regarding the "provincialism" of religion. It is noted that some atheists echo the statement by philosopher Karl Marx that religion is an opiate that should be done away with because it has little moral value. The use of spirit houses as a part of religious practice in southeast Asia is described. The opinion held by theists on animism is explored. Other topics include living conditions in Cambodia and the role of religion in …


Against Transcendentalism: The Meaning Of Life And Buddhism, Stephen Asma Mar 2006

Against Transcendentalism: The Meaning Of Life And Buddhism, Stephen Asma

Stephen T Asma

From the 1970s cult TV show, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, to the current hit musical Spamalot, the Monty Python comedy troupe has been at the center of popular culture and entertainment. The Pythons John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam are increasingly recognized and honored for their creativity and enduring influence in the worlds of comedy and film. Monty Python and Philosophy extends that recognition into the world of philosophy. Fifteen experts in topics like mythology, Buddhism, feminism, logic, ethics, and the philosophy of science bring their expertise to bear on Python movies such …


Learning To See The Satsana As A Religion: Latthi Kho’Ng Phu’An (Beliefs Of Friends) By Sathiankoset And Nakhaprathip, Sarah D. Calhoun Dec 2005

Learning To See The Satsana As A Religion: Latthi Kho’Ng Phu’An (Beliefs Of Friends) By Sathiankoset And Nakhaprathip, Sarah D. Calhoun

Sarah D Calhoun

Beginning in the nineteenth century and continuing on through the early twentieth century, Thai intellectuals became alert both to the category of religion in general, and to the specific religions that were crystallizing in the colonizing and colonized worlds. Their appropriation of these categories transformed the traditional notion of the satsana, the unique heritage of the Buddha, into Buddhism, merely one of numerous satsanas (religions). Certain contours of this large-scale change in the categories of religious self-understanding emerge when we consider the choices of two Thai authors, Sathiankoset and Nakhaprathip, in their book, Beliefs of Friends (Latthi Kho’ng Phu’an). In …