Understanding Religion: A Panoramic View

Contents: 1. Secularism: As an ideological practice in India/Ved Pal Singh Deswal. 2. An attempt to look beyond the given/Sulagna Pal. 3. Religion and the forming of the nation: A postcolonial study of Devdas/Kabita Chiring. 4. Tribal land management: An analysis of Ka Sain Bri in the Khasi society/Sharalyne Khyriemmujat. 5. Traditional democracy: Role of religion in the Khasi system of Governance with special reference to Hima Khyrim/David A. Kharchandy, Balajied Sing Syiem, Paul. Wahlang and Dharmon Mongdhar. 6. The presbyterian Church in the Khasi Hills and alcohol abuse/Banwan Shaphrang Lyngdoh. 7. Emergence and growth of the indigenous churches in the Khasi Hills (1902-2002) - An overview/T. Marbaniang. 8. The issue of gender discrimination in Meghalaya with special reference to East Khasi Hills/A.P. Warjri, Wangshimenla, I. Kharbuki, W. Ryndem and P.R. Lamare. 9. Position of women in Bihar during the early medieval period/Aarti. 10. Eco-spirituality in the Khasi religion/Iahunlin Khyriem, Jennifer Thangkhiew and Bobby D Majaw. 11. The Ecological history of the 'Ki Khloo Blai' in Jowai Township/Kerl'ihok Lyngdoh Buam. 12. Forest as a sacred space/Patricia Warjri. Index.

The book is a contribution of different perspective on religion for having a better understanding of how faiths have evolved from the past to the present day and continue to have an impact on various facets of human life. It calls for a wider readership to enable cross-cultural understanding of the social context of religious traditions, social construction of gender, two inter-related issues, i.e. the influences that religions have on women and vice versa and issues of ecological crisis in bringing about sustainable development.