Paula Richman (ed.). Questioning Ramayanas: A South Asian Tradition. Berkeley, University of California Press, 2001, xx+432 pp., $50.00/£35.00 (hardback) ISBN 0 520 22073 0, $19.95/£13.95 (paperback) ISBN 0 520 22074 9.
✍ Scribed by Alf Hiltebeitel
- Book ID
- 104269993
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 2004
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 62 KB
- Volume
- 34
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0048-721X
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
brevity of treatment. While there may be difficulties in the case of Judaism with the very notion of elite versus popular religiosity, at least in the case of Islam more could have been said. The consequence is an imbalance in the volume which is somewhat disappointing and which weakens its aim of covering the world's religions in a reasonably comprehensive manner.
Despite these many qualifications, Sharot's book provides a readable addition to the literature on the sociology of the world religions. Given the paucity of literature on the sociology of non-Christian religious traditions, the book can only be a welcome contribution towards redressing this neglect. Its detailed treatment of the theme of elite and popular religion will also make it a valuable resource for those interested in comparative religion.