Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Volume 8: Life and Death - Mulla

The opening major article, Life and Death, examines biological, primitive, American, Chinese, Christian, Egyptian, Greek and Roman, Hebrew, Indian, Iranian, Japanese, Jewish, and Teutonic conceptions of life, mortality, survival, and the relationship between biological existence and religious belief. The biological section discusses metabolism, reproduction, development, evolution, mechanism, vitalism, and the nature of death, while comparative sections analyse soul concepts, reincarnation, immortality, ritual, and attitudes toward the sanctity of life.

The volume then proceeds through major subjects including Light and Darkness, Literature, Logic, Love, Magic, Marriage, Materialism, Matter, Memory, Mercy, Messiah, Metaphysics, Methodism, Missions, Monasticism, Monism, Monotheism, Moral Obligation, Moral Sense, Muhammadanism, and related historical, doctrinal, and philosophical topics. Buddhist materials receive substantial attention in articles on Buddhist logic, love, monasticism, literature, magic, Mahāyāna, Madhyamaka, Mahāvastu, Mañjuśrī, Māra, and Buddhist conceptions of liberation. Hindu, Iranian, Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Chinese, Japanese, and ancient Mediterranean traditions are likewise treated comparatively. Overall, the volume exemplifies early twentieth-century scholarship in comparative religion through a broad interdisciplinary integration of textual study, history, ethnography, philosophy, theology, and social analysis.