The Encyclopedia of Religion, Volume 10

Volume 10 begins with “Moabite Religion,” which examines the religion of ancient Moab in relation to the Mesha inscription, biblical traditions, archaeology, cultic practice, and the broader religious environment of the ancient Near East. It then moves to “Modern Art,” where the relationship between modern artistic movements and religious or spiritual meaning is considered, especially in connection with abstraction, symbolism, aesthetics, and the changing role of religious expression in modern culture.

A major thematic cluster concerns Modernism and Modernity. The entries on Christian Modernism and Islamic Modernism analyze religious responses to modern intellectual, social, scientific, and political change. These discussions address such issues as historical criticism, liberal theology, reform, modern education, political authority, nationalism, law, and reinterpretation of tradition. The entry on Modernity broadens the discussion further by examining the conceptual relationship among modernization, tradition, secularization, science, technology, social transformation, and religious adaptation.

The volume also contains several entries directly relevant to Buddhist Studies. Moggalliputtatissa is discussed in connection with Aśokan Buddhism, monastic history, doctrinal disputes, and the Theravāda tradition. Mongkut is treated as a major figure in nineteenth-century Thai Buddhism, especially in relation to monastic reform, scriptural study, and the development of the Dhammayuttika Nikāya.

One of the most important sections is devoted to Monasticism. The general overview treats monastic life as a cross-cultural religious phenomenon and is followed by separate studies of Buddhist Monasticism and Christian Monasticism. The Buddhist section discusses the Saṅgha, Vinaya, wandering asceticism, settled monastic communities, ordination, discipline, communal life, monasteries, and regional developments across Asia. The Christian section surveys the historical development of monasticism from early Egyptian asceticism through Benedictine and medieval Western traditions.

Philosophical entries such as Moism, Mokṣa, and Monism broaden the volume beyond institutional religion. Moismexamines the Chinese philosophical tradition associated with Mozi; Mokṣa considers liberation within Indian religious and philosophical traditions; and Monism surveys different forms of metaphysical unity in Indian, Buddhist, Greek, and Western philosophical systems.

Other entries, including Mongol Religions, explore shamanism, Tibetan Buddhist influence, ancestral traditions, and indigenous religious practices among Mongolian peoples. The entries on Money and Monastery further demonstrate the encyclopedia’s wide interdisciplinary scope by examining economic, architectural, institutional, and social dimensions of religion.

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