The early modern period witnessed sometimes startling, sometimes subtle transformations in the religious and intellectual life of peoples across the globe. For reasons that varied widely, leaders and thinkers from Mexico to the Ottoman Empire and from China to the Indian subcontinent sought to reform existing religions, develop new spiritual practices, promote innovative texts, and, on occasion, even create new religions. Presenting documents from different regions and different religious and philosophical traditions, including Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Christianity, and Confucianism, this volume allows students to explore and analyse these varied transformations. A general introduction introduces the framework for examining the chapter case studies, while the chapters provide context, a group of primary sources, and a set of questions to consider. 

Foreword

Preface

A Note about the Texts

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION

Religious Innovations and Reforms

Interwoven Transformations

Primary Themes

PART TWO: THE DOCUMENTS

1. Mesoamerica: Mexica Innovations and Mexican Catholicism

   1. Gods of Life and Death from the Codex Borgia, c. 1500

   2. Hymn to Huitzilopochtli from the Codices Matritenses, c. 1550

   3. Mexica War Songs, 1560s

   4. Diego Durán, The History of the Indies of New Spain, c. 1580

   5. Chimalpahin, Annals, 1613

   6. Bernardino de Sahagún, Sermons, 1540

   7. Bernardino de Sahagún, Christian Psalmody, 1583

   8. Andres de Olmos (?), Final Judgment, 1530s

   9. Chimalpahin, Annals, 1613

2. Europe: Reforms and Reformations in Christianity

   10. Desiderius Erasmus, The Praise of Folly, 1511

   11. Martin Luther, The Freedom of a Christian, 1520

   12. Martin Luther, A sermon on marriage, 1525

   13. Matthias Gerung, Protestant woodcut, 1546

   14. Ignatius Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, 1520s

   15. Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection, 1565

   16. Pope Pius IV, Injunctum nobis, 1564

   17. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1536

   18. John Calvin, Ordinances for the Regulation of Churches, 1547

3. Africa and Southwest Asia: Politics and Mysticism in Islam and Judaism

   19. The Replies of Muhammad Al-Maghili to the Questions of Askia al-Hajj Muhammad, 1498

   20. Letters Between Sultan Selim I and Shah Isma’il, 1514

   21. Mystical dance of a Sufi brotherhood, sixteenth century

   22. Abdulwahhab b. Ahmad al-Sharani, Qualities of a Sufi saint, c. 1560

   23. Katib Chelebi, The Balance of Truth, 1656

   24. Moses Cordovero, The Palmtree of Deborah, 1560s

   25. Isaac Luria, Bringing Forth Sparks, 1570

   26. The Pious Customs of Abraham Galante, 1580s

4. South Asia: Syncretism and Sikhism in the Mughal Empire

   27. Abu’l Fazl, Akbarnama, c. 1590

   28. ‘Abd ul-Qadir Bada’uni, Selected Histories, c. 1590

   29. Nan Singh, Scholars Gather at Akbar’s Court, 1605

   30. Muhsi-i-Fani, School of Religion, c. 1650

   31. The Japji Sahib from the Guru Granth

   32. Hymns of Guru Amar Das, 1560s

   33. Sikh texts for a wedding, 1560s

5. East Asia: Combining and Competing Traditions in China and Japan

34. Wang Yangming, Questions on the Great Learning, 1527

35. Wang Yangming, The Community Compact for Southern Ganzhou, 1520s

36. Li Zhi, A Book to Burn (Fenshu), 1590

37. Li Zhi, Two Letters, 1590s

38. Tao-chi, A Man in a House Beneath a Cliff, 17th century

39. Hayashi Razan, Ruling and Living in Conformity with the

Order of Heaven and Earth, c. 1620

40. Hosukawa Tama Gracia, Letter to the Jesuit Superior Gregorio de Cespedes, 1590

41. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Letter to the Viceroy of the Indies, 1591

Postscript

APPENDIXES

Chronology: Global Religious Transformations, 1450-1650

Questions for Consideration

Selected Bibliography

Index