Revivals of ancient religious traditions in modern India

Transnational Identities and Religious Traditions: A Case of Religious Double Belonging in India

Indigenous Religious Traditions

Orthodoxy, and other so-called world religions that were complicit with colonialist expansion and its repression of the “other peoples” (indigenous), their rites and beliefs. For centuries, colonial societies have denied that indigenous peoples had “religions” at all; as the great photographer of Native North American cultures Edward S. Curtis stated, “There seems to be a broadly prevalent idea...

Adam in Ancient Mesopotamian Traditions

Since the recovery and publication of texts from the Ancient Near East is a continuing endeavor, the materials already published need to be reexamined from time to time in the light of more recent information. The case in point for reexamination here is the Mesopotamian story of Adapa, which is noted for its parallel with the early chapters in Genesis as a reference to man's squandered opportun...

Tracks of ancient cosmetics in the modern era of cosmetics

Cosmetics is as old as the history of human being. It has been present in human life since the times of the most ancient civilizations. Perfumery is one of the oldest branches of cosmetics. Valerian perfumes found from the Pharaohs’ pyramids, had maintained their aroma. Coriander, Mace oil, cardamom, cinnamon, and juniper were also the favorite materials used for perfumery in ancient Egyptian c...

Towards an Epistemology of Religious Traditions"

The vast majority of human beings derive their religious convictions from participation in a tradition, into which they were either born or converted. An important, but largely neglected, topic, therefore, is when, if at all, such participation is warranted) Quite a lot hangs on the answer to this question. For, as I shall make explicit, if it is warranted to participate in one tradition rather...