Two New Books in Multifaith Perspectives

I came across two new books today, with common threads that explain the emergence of faiths and belief systems (in physical and virtual, respectively), focusing on theories (sociological, anthropological), forces (philosophical, theological) and most importantly, my favorite, i.e., taxonomies.

A word about what makes these distinct:

One deals with evolution of the world religions' influence on European geography; and the other is all-ado-about the cyberspace, with samples from virtual domains in online religions / religions online (or e-religions).
Furthermore, the first title drew my attention with its sub-title on pluralism; and second, for Web analytics, my yet another favorite.

The invention of world religions, or, How European universalism was preserved in the language of pluralism / Tomoko Masuzawa (U Chicago, 2005). Table of contents @ Library of Congress
* reviewed in:

Boettcher, S.R. "The Invention of Worls Religions: Or, How European Universalism was Preserved in the Language of Pluralism.(Brief article)(Book review)." CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries 43.8 (April 2006): 1419-1420. InfoTrac Information Science & Technology eCollection.
[Tomoko Masuzawa teaches European intellectual history and critical theory at the University of Michigan, where she holds a joint appointment in the Department of History and the Program in Comparative Literature. She is the author of In Search of Dream Time: The Quest for the Origin of Religion, also published by the University of Chicago Press.]

E-religion : a critical appraisal of religious discourse on the World Wide Web / Anastasia Karaflogka (Equinox, 2007). @ Table of contents @ Library of Congress
About the author:

[Anastasia Karaflogka is lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, She has designed and teaches a course on religion and cyberspace. Her research interests include religion and: Information Communication Technologies; immersive virtual realities; cyberrituals; robotics and theory and method of cyverreligious discourses. She has contributed to various publications, most recently to the journals Predicting Religion and Religion.]

My related books and publications:

Cyber Worship in Multifaith Perspectives

Taxonomy of Faiths: A semantic journey

My related book reviews:

Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices. Gale Thompson, 2006. Journal of Religious and Theological Info [in press]

Birgit Schabler and Leif Stenberg, Editors. Globalization and the Muslim World: Culture, Religion, and Modernity Syracuse Univ. Press, 2004.. MELA Notes [in press]

Linda Main. Building Websites for a Multinational Audience. Scarecrow Press, 2002. Information Processing and Management, 40, 2004, 583-585.

Julie M. Still. The Accidental Webmaster, Information Today Inc. 2003. Information Resources Management Journal 17, 2004, 79-80.

Melody Y. Ivory. Automated Web Site Evaluation: Researchers' and Practitioners' Perspectives. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003. Information Processing and Management, Jan2007, Vol. 43 Issue 1, p. 288-290

Ali Mirsepassi and others, editors. Localizing Knowledge in a Globalizing World: Recasting the Area Studies Debate Syracuse Univ. Press, 2003.MELA Notes 78 (2005): 71-74

Barry Wellman and Caroline Haythornthwaite, Edtors. The Internet in Everyday Life. Blackwell Publishers, 2003. Information Resources Management Journal, 19(1), 98-100, January-March 2006 [Other reviews from my desktop]

My related blog posts:

Cyber Worship Revisited - Balaji, a Hindu priest offering prayers
Special Issue from Religious Studies Review on Religion & Internet

Cybersins and Digital Good Deeds

Christian Librarianship

Web Vastu or A Spiritual Worldview for Marketing Website

Online - Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet