This book takes a unique perspective as it looks at how people engage in everyday religious practices , such as prayer, sacrifice, pilgrimage, and dress, as well as investigates major issues of gender, nation-states, and laws with respect to religion.

No other text examines the full spectrum of religions from small-scale societies to full-blown “world religious movements.” The in-depth treatment of Islam and Christianity is of particular interest to students, and is easily expanded to include field projects directly related to material covered in the text.

The revised edition includes up-to-the-minute examples and high-interest news stories from today's headlines.