Barbara Stanny is a popular motivational speaker and former journalist and syndicated columnist. Her national
media credits include Good Morning America, The O'Reilly Factor, The View, Extra!, NPR, the New York Times, and
USA Today, among others. She is also the author of Prince Charming Isn't Coming: How Women Get Smart About Money.
Sample Chapter
This workbook is designed to assist you in studying Huston Smith's The World's Religions, a classic introduction
to this subject. By means of specific reading and writing assignments, this workbook will help you engage the subject
of world religions directly and in detail. When you complete this course of study, you will have a firm grasp of
the beliefs and attitudes which energize the practice of religion in the seven major religions of the world.
Working with the Workbook
Exploring The Worlds Religions is a workbook. It operates on the premise that your understanding of this subject
will come from your own active thinking and reflecting on the topics at hand. And that means attentive reading
and deliberate writing.This workbook invites you to engage this study actively. Abandon the practice, if you have
it, of underlining or highlighting the textbook as a memory device. Adopt the practice of conversing with the textbook,
of writing down -- in your own words -- your observations, questions, and reflections.
This workbook offers cues to prompt your conversation with the textbook, and it gives you space to record the
basic elements of that conversation. But every real conversation is unique, unfolding in ways that even the participants
cannot anticipate. So don't let the workbook Emit your engagement with the subject. Keep a personal notebook to
record the rest of your observations and reflections.
Another reason to keep a personal notebook is to help you cope with the special vocabulary of The World's Religions.
Some readers find Smith's language rather different from their own. Whenever Smith uses a word or phrase that is
unfamiliar to you, look it up in your dictionary and then use it in your notebook entry. This practice will ensure
that you understand the textbook fully, and that your own vocabulary continues to grow.
Growing with the Workbook
Exploring The World's Religions can promote your personal and academic growth beyond the boundaries of this
subject. If you use this workbook methodically, completing the assignments as indicated, you will experience two
significant benefits. Your capacity to mad, comprehend and appreciate complex materials will increase, and your
personal writing skills will sharpen and grow.
Getting Started
Before you begin reading the textbook, browse through this workbook to get acquainted with its layout. You will
see that the workbook divides the study of The World's Religions into twenty-five units. Each unit covers a section
of the textbook, asking you to read that section in short segments and then respond to specific questions. Each
unit contains the directions you need for that assignment, but be sure to follow any additional instructions your
professor may give.So let's begin exploring world religions! Unit I introduces Huston Smith and The World's Religions.
Summary
The perfect companion to Huston Smith's The World's Religions--a classroom-tested workbook for the understanding
of humankind's wisdom traditions.