The Encyclopedia of Religion, Volume 11

Volume 11 illustrates the encyclopedic architecture of the larger work: entries are arranged alphabetically but are written as substantial scholarly essays rather than brief dictionary definitions. The contributors frequently combine textual study, history of religions, comparative theology, anthropology, sociology, and philosophy. Cross-references connect individual entries to broader themes elsewhere in the encyclopedia.

The uploaded portion is especially rich in methodological concepts relevant to religious studies. Numinous draws attention to Rudolf Otto’s category of the sacred as mysterium tremendum et fascinans; Ontology considers philosophical questions concerning being; Oral Tradition examines the preservation and transmission of religious knowledge outside written cultures; Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy and Orthopraxy explore the distinction between correct belief and correct practice; and Otherworld compares representations of realms beyond ordinary human existence across numerous traditions.

Among the important conceptual entries in this portion are Nudity, Numbers, Numinous, Occultism, Oceanic Religions, Ontology, Oracles, Oral Tradition, Ordeal, Ordination, Orientation, Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy, Orthopraxy, and Otherworld. Each of these topics is treated comparatively. For example, the entry on Numbersexamines numerical symbolism across Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and other traditions, while Ordination surveys initiation into religious offices across Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic contexts. 

The section on Oceanic Religions is particularly extensive. It includes an overview of religious traditions across Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia, as well as dedicated discussions of missionary movements and the history of scholarly study. The entry is supplemented by a regional map, reflecting the encyclopedia’s interdisciplinary use of geography, anthropology, mission history, and comparative religion.