Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Religious Grounds

Censorship of religious and philosophical speculation is as old as history and as current as today's headlines. Many of the world's major religious texts, including the Bible, the Talmud, the Koran, and others, have been suppressed, condemned, or proscribed at some time. Works of secular literature touching upon religious belief or reflecting dissenting views have also been suppressed. ''Literature Suppressed on Religious Grounds, Revised Edition'' profiles the censorship of many such essential works of civilization. The 14 entries new to this edition include extensive coverage of the ''Harry Potter'' series, which has been frequently banned in the United States on the grounds that it promotes witchcraft, as well as entries on two popular textbook series, ''The Witches'' by Roald Dahl, ''Women Without Men: A Novel of Modern Iran'', and more. Also included are updates to such entries as ''The Satanic Verses'' by Salman Rushdie and ''On the Origin of Species'' by Charles Darwin. New and updated entries include: ''The Advancement of Learning'' (Francis Bacon); ''The Age of Reason'' (Thomas Paine); ''The Analects'' (Confucius); The Bible; ''The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution'' (Roger Williams); ''The Book of Common Prayer'' (Thomas Cranmer); ''Children of the Alley'' (Naguib Mahfouz); ''The Critique of Pure Reason'' (Immanuel Kant); ''Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems'' (Galileo Galilei); ''Discourse on Method'' (Rene Descartes); ''Don Quixote'' (Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra); ''The Harry Potter'' series (J. K. Rowling); The Koran; ''The Last Temptation of Christ'' (Nikos Kazantzakis); ''On the Origin of Species'' (Charles Darwin); ''Popol Vuh''; ''The Red and the Black'' (Stendhal); ''The Satanic Verses'' (Salman Rushdie); ''Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India'' (James W. Laine); ''The Talmud''; ''Voyages to the Moon and the Sun'' (Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac); and, ''Zhuan Falun: The Complete Teachings of Falun Gong'' (Li Hongzhi).