Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations
Preface
Introduction
1. Universal Reformer
2. From Spiritualism to Theosophy
3. An Errand to Asia
4. The Sinhalese Buddhist Revival
5. A United Buddhist World
6. The Indian Renaissance
7. Things Fall Apart
Conclusion
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index

Promotional Information

A meeting of American Protestantism with Asian religious traditions

About the Author

Stephen Prothero is Professor of Religion at Boston University. His books include God is Not One: The Eight Religious Rivals that Run the World; American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon; and the New York Times bestseller Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know—and Doesn't, which won a 2007 Quill Book Award. Prothero blogs for CNN's Belief Blog and has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Newsweek, Slate, and Salon.

Reviews

"A meticulous story of a very colorful subject. In the process, [Prothero] assists the understanding of religious pluralism in our current age." Church History "The first scholarly biographical study of [this] influential figure; its use of "creolization" theory adds to ongoing conversations about how to understand contact, colonialism, and conversion." Religious Studies Review "An important study of a remarkable 19th-century American." Choice "Prothero's study should interest not only scholars in the field but students of Asian religions and American religious history generally." Journal of American History "Prothero has succeeded in creating a portrait of Olcott that will shape future scholarship... Engaging and succinct." Gnosis Magazine