Beyond Belief collects fifteen celebrated, broadly ranging essays in which Robert Bellah interprets the interplay of religion and society in concrete contexts from Japan to the Middle East to the United States.

This Second Edition represents Bellah's summation of his views on civil religion in America.

He takes a reflective turn with Imagining Japan, evidencing his profound concern with religious evolution."—Tetsuo Najita, University of Chicago "One of the most original attempts to understand some of the psychological and symbolic roots ...

By examining the force of religion in politics and society, this book offers a comparative treatment that deepens the understanding of American civil religion and provides a lens for exploring civil religion in other societies, particularly ...

Challenging Modernity critically assesses the modern project to shed light on the tensions between its transcendent aspirations and the perils we now face.

The canonical texts of the Hebrew scriptures, the philosophical writings of Plato and Aristotle, the Analects of Confucius and the Daodejing, the Bhagavad Gita and the teachings of the Buddha—all of these works came down to us from the ...

A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice An ABC Australia Best Book on Religion and Ethics of the Year Distinguished Book Award, Sociology of Religion Section of the American Sociological Association Religion in Human Evolution is a ...

In this revealing work, Bellah shows how the native doctrines of Buddhism, Confucianism and Shinto encouraged forms of logic and understanding necessary for economic development.