Adopting a fresh approach to sourcebooks on the religions of the world, Princeton Readings in Religions moves away from an emphasis on philosophy and the religious expressions of elite groups to represent instead a wide range of current and historical religious practices. The series provides a new configuration of texts by making available for the first time works that have never been translated before, including ritual texts, hagiographical and autobiographical works, folktales, and ethnographic material. Although the books are designed for students, specialists will discover in them a wealth of unfamiliar and valuable material. Furthermore, the selections, appealing in themselves, are placed in an understandable context to attract a wide audience of general readers. The contributors include experts from around the world, each of whom provides a substantial introduction for his or her piece, placing the text in time and genre, discussing the history and influence of the work, and identifying points of particular difficulty or interest. Each volume also contains a substantial general introduction in which the history of the traditions is outlined and the significance of each work is explored.
