The Encyclopedia of Religion, Volume 2

Major entries in the A section include Authority, examining the foundations of religious authority across ancient religions, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and other traditions; Autobiography, addressing religious self-writing and conversion narratives; Avalokiteśvara, presenting the Mahāyāna bodhisattva’s doctrines, iconography, and cult; Avatāra, discussing divine descent in Hinduism; Avesta, treating Zoroastrian scripture; Avidyā, explaining ignorance in Indian philosophical traditions; Āyurveda, surveying classical Indian medicine and its religious-cultural context; and Aztec Religion, describing Mesoamerican cosmology, gods, sacrifice, ritual, and social institutions.

The B section broadens the comparative scope through entries on Baal, Bābīs, Babylonian Religion, Baha’is, Balinese Religion, Baltic Religion, Bambara Religion, Banaras, Baptism, Baptist Churches, Bar and Bat Mitzvah, Basilica, Batak Religion, Benedictines, Bengali Religions, Bhagavadgītā, Bhakti, and Biblical Exegesis. Collectively, these articles demonstrate the encyclopedia’s interdisciplinary method: religious phenomena are studied through doctrine, ritual practice, mythology, sacred literature, historical development, institutions, and cultural context. The volume therefore functions both as a scholarly reference source and as a comparative survey of global religious traditions.