Daily political events and the steady inevitability of globalism require that informed students and citizens learn something about religious traditions foreign to their own. Designed for both classroom and general use, these handy Key Words guidebooks are essential resources for those who want clear and concise explanations of common terms and unfamiliar concepts of major world religions.

Each pocket-sized volume contains definitions for over 400 terms from religious principles and significant periods to noteworthy figures.

A quick sampling of terms from this volume:

AshramBrahmanDharmaGyanaJanmashtamiKalpaMantraRamayanaUpanishads

Sample Definitions:

Ashram Lit. shelter. A retreat place or hermitage used for spiritual development and often the centre of teaching for a particular guru or sect.

Gyana Spiritual knowledge. Sometimes it is understood that such knowledge can be learned by the study of scriptures but it is also used to describe knowledge that arises from direct experience of God (Brahman) or realization of the Self (atman). The relationship between these two informs different theories concerning spiritual knowledge (see Vedanta, atman, Brahman, jnana).

Ron Geaves is professor of the comparative study of religion at Liverpool Hope University in England.