Fishing 4

[Tina]

Issues in religion
Economics
The national income of countries correlates negatively with their religiosity.[4]
Main article: Economics of religion
Further information: Religion and business and Wealth and religion

While there has been much debate about how religion affects the economy of countries, in general there is a negative correlation between religiosity and the wealth of nations. In other words, the richer a nation is, the less religious it tends to be.[64] However, sociologist and political economist Max Weber has argued that Protestant countries are wealthier because of their Protestant work ethic.[65]
Health
Main article: Impacts of religion on health

Mayo Clinic researchers examined the association between religious involvement and spirituality, and physical health, mental health, health-related quality of life, and other health outcomes. The authors reported that: "Most studies have shown that religious involvement and spirituality are associated with better health outcomes, including greater longevity, coping skills, and health-related quality of life (even during terminal illness) and less anxiety, depression, and suicide."[66] The authors of a subsequent study concluded that the influence of religion on health is "largely beneficial", based on a review of related literature.[67] According to academic James W. Jones, several studies have discovered "positive correlations between religious belief and practice and mental and physical health and longevity." [68]

An analysis of data from the 1998 US General Social Survey, whilst broadly confirming that religious activity was associated with better health and well-being, also suggested that the role of different dimensions of spirituality/religiosity in health is rather more complicated. The results suggested "that it may not be appropriate to generalize findings about the relationship between spirituality/religiosity and health from one form of spirituality/religiosity to another, across denominations, or to assume effects are uniform for men and women.[69]
Violence
Main article: Religious violence
See also: Christianity and violence, Judaism and violence, and Islam and violence
The Crusades were a series of a military campaigns fought mainly between Christian Europe and Muslims. Shown here is a battle scene from the First Crusade.

Charles Selengut characterizes the phrase "religion and violence" as "jarring", asserting that "religion is thought to be opposed to violence and a force for peace and reconciliation. He acknowledges, however, that "the history and scriptures of the world's religions tell stories of violence and war as they speak of peace and love."[70]

Hector Avalos argues that, because religions claim divine favor for themselves, over and against other groups, this sense of righteousness leads to violence because conflicting claims to superiority, based on unverifiable appeals to God, cannot be adjudicated objectively.[71]

Critics of religion Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins go further and argue that religions do tremendous harm to society by using violence to promote their goals, in ways that are endorsed and exploited by their leaders.[72][page needed][73][page needed]

Regina Schwartz argues that all monotheistic religions are inherently violent because of an exclusivism that inevitably fosters violence against those that are considered outsiders.[74] Lawrence Wechsler asserts that Schwartz isn't just arguing that Abrahamic religions have a violent legacy, but that the legacy is actually genocidal in nature.[75]

Byron Bland asserts that one of the most prominent reasons for the "rise of the secular in Western thought" was the reaction against the religious violence of the 16th and 17th centuries. He asserts that "(t)he secular was a way of living with the religious differences that had produced so much horror. Under secularity, political entities have a warrant to make decisions independent from the need to enforce particular versions of religious orthodoxy. Indeed, they may run counter to certain strongly held beliefs if made in the interest of common welfare. Thus, one of the important goals of the secular is to limit violence."[76]

Nonetheless, believers have used similar arguments when responding to atheists in these discussions, pointing to the widespread imprisonment and mass murder of individuals under atheist states in the twentieth century:[77][78][79]

And who can deny that Stalin and Mao, not to mention Pol Pot and a host of others, all committed atrocities in the name of a Communist ideology that was explicitly atheistic? Who can dispute that they did their bloody deeds by claiming to be establishing a 'new man' and a religion-free utopia? These were mass murders performed with atheism as a central part of their ideological inspiration, they were not mass murders done by people who simply happened to be atheist.
—Dinesh D'Souza[79]

In response to such a line of argument, however, author Sam Harris writes:

The problem with fascism and communism, however, is not that they are too critical of religion; the problem is that they are too much like religions. Such regimes are dogmatic to the core and generally give rise to personality cults that are indistinguishable from cults of religious hero worship. Auschwitz, the gulag and the killing fields were not examples of what happens when human beings reject religious dogma; they are examples of political, racial and nationalistic dogma run amok. There is no society in human history that ever suffered because its people became too reasonable.
—Sam Harris[80]

Richard Dawkins has stated that Stalin's atrocities were influenced not by atheism but by dogmatic Marxism,[81] and concludes that while Stalin and Mao happened to be atheists, they did not do their deeds in the name of atheism.[82] On other occasions, Dawkins has replied to the argument that Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin were antireligious with the response that Hitler and Stalin also grew moustaches, in an effort to show the argument as fallacious.[83] Instead, Dawkins argues in The God Delusion that "What matters is not whether Hitler and Stalin were atheists, but whether atheism systematically influences people to do bad things. There is not the smallest evidence that it does." Dawkins adds that Hitler in fact, repeatedly affirmed a strong belief in Christianity,[84] but that his atrocities were no more attributable to his theism than Stalin's or Mao's were to their atheism. In all three cases, he argues, the perpetrators' level of religiosity was incidental.[85] D'Souza responds that an individual need not explicitly invoke atheism in committing atrocities if it is already implied in his worldview, as is the case in Marxism.[86]
Law
[icon] This section requires expansion with:

Examples
International POV
Coherent communication. (September 2012)

There are laws and statutes that make reference to religion.[note 4] This has led scholar Winnifred Sullivan to claims that religious freedom is impossible.[87] Others argue that the Western legal principle of separation of church and state tends to engender a new, more inclusive civil religion.[88]
Science
Main articles: Relationship between religion and science and Epistemology

Religious knowledge, according to religious practitioners, may be gained from religious leaders, sacred texts, scriptures, or personal revelation. Some religions view such knowledge as unlimited in scope and suitable to answer any question; others see religious knowledge as playing a more restricted role, often as a complement to knowledge gained through physical observation. Adherents to various religious faiths often maintain that religious knowledge obtained via sacred texts or revelation is absolute and infallible and thereby creates an accompanying religious cosmology, although the proof for such is often tautological and generally limited to the religious texts and revelations that form the foundation of their belief.

In contrast, the scientific method gains knowledge by testing hypotheses to develop theories through elucidation of facts or evaluation by experiments and thus only answers cosmological questions about the universe that can be observed and measured. It develops theories of the world which best fit physically observed evidence. All scientific knowledge is subject to later refinement, or even outright rejection, in the face of additional evidence. Scientific theories that have an overwhelming preponderance of favorable evidence are often treated as de facto verities in general parlance, such as the theories of general relativity and natural selection to explain respectively the mechanisms of gravity and evolution.

Regarding religion and science, Albert Einstein states (1940): "For science can only ascertain what is, but not what should be, and outside of its domain value judgments of all kinds remain necessary. Religion, on the other hand, deals only with evaluations of human thought and action; it cannot justifiably speak of facts and relationships between facts…Now, even though the realms of religion and science in themselves are clearly marked off from each other, nevertheless there exist between the two strong reciprocal relationships and dependencies. Though religion may be that which determine the goals, it has, nevertheless, learned from science, in the broadest sense, what means will contribute to the attainment of the goals it has set up." [89]
Social constructionists

In recent years, some academic writers have described religion according to the theory of social constructionism, which considers how ideas and social phenomena develop in a social context. Among the main proponents of this theory of religion are Timothy Fitzgerald, Daniel Dubuisson and Talal Asad. The social constructionists argue that religion is a modern concept that developed from Christianity and was then applied inappropriately to non-Western cultures.

Dubuisson, a French anthropologist, says that the idea of religion has changed a lot over time and that one cannot fully understand its development by relying on etymology, which "tends to minimize or cancel out the role of history".[90] "What the West and the history of religions in its wake have objectified under the name 'religion'", he says, " is ... something quite unique, which could be appropriate only to itself and its own history."[90] He notes that St. Augustine's definition of religio differed from the way we used the modern word "religion".[90] Dubuisson prefers the term "cosmographic formation" to religion. Dubuisson says that, with the emergence of religion as a category separate from culture and society, there arose religious studies. The initial purpose of religious studies was to demonstrate the superiority of the "living" or "universal" European world view to the "dead" or "ethnic" religions scattered throughout the rest of the world, expanding the teleological project of Schleiermacher and Tiele to a worldwide ideal religiousness.[91] Due to shifting theological currents, this was eventually supplanted by a liberal-ecumenical interest in searching for Western-style universal truths in every cultural tradition.[92] Clifford Geertz's definition of religion as a "cultural system" was proposed in the 20th century and continues to be widely accepted today.

According to Fitzgerald, the history of other cultures' interaction with the religious category is not about a universal constant,[clarification needed] but rather concerns a particular idea that first developed in Europe under the influence of Christianity.[93] Fitzgerald argues that from about the 4th century CE Western Europe and the rest of the world diverged. As Christianity became commonplace, the charismatic authority identified by Augustine, a quality we might today call "religiousness", exerted a commanding influence at the local level. This system persisted in the eastern Byzantine Empire following the East-West Schism, but Western Europe regulated unpredictable expressions of charisma through the Roman Catholic Church. As the Church lost its dominance during the Protestant Reformation and Christianity became closely tied to political structures, religion was recast as the basis of national sovereignty, and religious identity gradually became a less universal sense of spirituality and more divisive, locally defined, and tied to nationality.[94] It was at this point that "religion" was dissociated with universal beliefs and moved closer to dogma in both meaning and practice. However there was not yet the idea of dogma as personal choice, only of established churches. With the Enlightenment religion lost its attachment to nationality, says Fitzgerald, but rather than becoming a universal social attitude, it now became a personal feeling or emotion.[95] Friedrich Schleiermacher in the late 18th century defined religion as das schlechthinnige Abhängigkeitsgefühl, commonly translated as "a feeling of absolute dependence".[96] His contemporary Hegel disagreed thoroughly, defining religion as "the Divine Spirit becoming conscious of Himself through the finite spirit."[97]

Asad argues that before the word "religion" came into common usage, Christianity was a disciplina, a "rule" just like that of the Roman Empire. This idea can be found in the writings of St. Augustine (354–430). Christianity was then a power structure opposing and superseding human institutions, a literal Kingdom of Heaven. It was the discipline taught by one's family, school, church, and city authorities, rather than something calling one to self-discipline through symbols.[98]

These ideas are developed by S. N. Balagangadhara. In the Age of Enlightenment, Balagangadhara says that the idea of Christianity as the purest expression of spirituality was supplanted by the concept of "religion" as a worldwide practice.[99] This caused such ideas as religious freedom, a reexamination of classical philosophy as an alternative to Christian thought, and more radically Deism among intellectuals such as Voltaire. Much like Christianity, the idea of "religious freedom" was exported around the world as a civilizing technique, even to regions such as India that had never treated spirituality as a matter of political identity.[41] In Japan, where Buddhism was still seen as a philosophy of natural law,[100] the concept of "religion" and "religious freedom" as separate from other power structures was unnecessary until Christian missionaries demanded free access to conversion, and when Japanese Christians refused to engage in patriotic events.[101]
Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism are one, a painting in the litang style portraying three men laughing by a river stream, 12th century, Song Dynasty
Other writers

Similar views have been put forward by writers who are not social constructionists. George Lindbeck, a Lutheran and a postliberal theologian, says that religion does not refer to belief in "God" or a transcendent Absolute, but rather to "a kind of cultural and/or linguistic framework or medium that shapes the entirety of life and thought ... it is similar to an idiom that makes possible the description of realities, the formulation of beliefs, and the experiencing of inner attitudes, feelings, and sentiments.”[102] Nicholas de Lange, Professor of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at Cambridge University, says that "The comparative study of religions is an academic discipline which has been developed within Christian theology faculties, and it has a tendency to force widely differing phenomena into a kind of strait-jacket cut to a Christian pattern. The problem is not only that other 'religions' may have little or nothing to say about questions which are of burning importance for Christianity, but that they may not even see themselves as religions in precisely the same way in which Christianity sees itself as a religion."[103]
Animal sacrifice
Main article: Animal sacrifice

Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing and offering of an animal to appease or maintain favour with a deity. Such forms of sacrifice are practised within many religions around the world and have appeared historically in almost all cultures.
Related forms of thought
Superstition
Further information: Superstition, Magical thinking, and Magic and religion

Superstition has been described as "the incorrect establishment of cause and effect" or a false conception of causation.[104] Religion is more complex and includes social institutions and morality. But religions may include superstitions or make use of magical thinking. Adherents of one religion sometimes think of other religions as superstition.[105][106] Some atheists, deists, and skeptics regard religious belief as superstition.

Greek and Roman pagans, who saw their relations with the gods in political and social terms, scorned the man who constantly trembled with fear at the thought of the gods (deisidaimonia), as a slave might fear a cruel and capricious master. The Romans called such fear of the gods superstitio.[107] Early Christianity was outlawed as a superstitio Iudaica, a "Jewish superstition", by Domitian in the 80s AD. In AD 425, when Rome had become Christian, Theodosius II outlawed pagan traditions as superstitious.

The Roman Catholic Church considers superstition to be sinful in the sense that it denotes a lack of trust in the divine providence of God and, as such, is a violation of the first of the Ten Commandments. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that superstition "in some sense represents a perverse excess of religion" (para. #2110). "Superstition," it says, "is a deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the true God, e.g., when one attributes an importance in some way magical to certain practices otherwise lawful or necessary. To attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand is to fall into superstition. Cf. Matthew 23:16-22" (para. #2111)
Myth
Main article: Mythology

The word myth has several meanings.

A traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon;
A person or thing having only an imaginary or unverifiable existence; or
A metaphor for the spiritual potentiality in the human being.[108]

Urarina shaman, 1988

Ancient polytheistic religions, such as those of Greece, Rome, and Scandinavia, are usually categorized under the heading of mythology. Religions of pre-industrial peoples, or cultures in development, are similarly called "myths" in the anthropology of religion. The term "myth" can be used pejoratively by both religious and non-religious people. By defining another person's religious stories and beliefs as mythology, one implies that they are less real or true than one's own religious stories and beliefs. Joseph Campbell remarked, "Mythology is often thought of as other people's religions, and religion can be defined as mis-interpreted mythology."[109]

In sociology, however, the term myth has a non-pejorative meaning. There, myth is defined as a story that is important for the group whether or not it is objectively or provably true. Examples include the death and resurrection of Jesus, which, to Christians, explains the means by which they are freed from sin and is also ostensibly a historical event. But from a mythological outlook, whether or not the event actually occurred is unimportant. Instead, the symbolism of the death of an old "life" and the start of a new "life" is what is most significant. Religious believers may or may not accept such symbolic interpretations.
Secularism and irreligion
Main articles: Secularism and Irreligion
See also: Atheism, Agnosticism, and Antireligion

The terms "atheist" (lack of belief in any gods) and "agnostic" (belief in the unknowability of the existence of gods), though specifically contrary to theistic (e.g. Christian, Jewish, and Muslim) religious teachings, do not by definition mean the opposite of "religious". There are religions (including Buddhism and Taoism), in fact, that classify some of their followers as agnostic, atheistic, or nontheistic. The true opposite of "religious" is the word "irreligious". Irreligion describes an absence of any religion; antireligion describes an active opposition or aversion toward religions in general.

As religion became a more personal matter in Western culture, discussions of society became more focused on political and scientific meaning, and religious attitudes (dominantly Christian) were increasingly seen as irrelevant for the needs of the European world. On the political side, Ludwig Feuerbach recast Christian beliefs in light of humanism, paving the way for Karl Marx's famous characterization of religion as "the opium of the people". Meanwhile, in the scientific community, T.H. Huxley in 1869 coined the term "agnostic," a term—subsequently adopted by such figures as Robert Ingersoll—that, while directly conflicting with and novel to Christian tradition, is accepted and even embraced in some other religions. Later, Bertrand Russell told the world Why I Am Not a Christian, which influenced several later authors to discuss their breakaway from their own religious uprbringings from Islam to Hinduism.
Parody religions
Main article: Parody religion

Parody religions are imitation belief systems that challenge spiritual convictions of others, often through humor, satire, and/or burlesque. Often created to achieve a specific purpose related to another belief system, a parody religion can be a parody of one or more specific systems or even the very concept of religious belief. In some parody religions, emphasis is on making fun and being a convenient excuse for pleasant social interaction among like-minded, e.g. the Church of the SubGenius. Other parody religions target a specific religion, sect, cult, or new religious movement.

One approach to parody religion aims to highlight deficiencies in particular pro-religious arguments — the thinking being that if a given argument can also be used to support a clear parody, then the original argument is clearly flawed. An example of this is the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which parodies the equal time argument employed by intelligent design Creationism.[110]

Several religions that are classified as parody religions have a number of relatively serious followers who embrace the perceived absurdity of these religions as spiritually significant, a decidedly post-modern approach to religion. For instance, in Discordianism, it may be hard to tell if even these "serious" followers are not just taking part in an even bigger joke. This joke, in turn, may be part of a greater path to enlightenment, and so on ad infinitum.
Criticism
Main article: Criticism of religion

Religious criticism has a long history, going back at least as far as the 5th century BCE. During classical times, there were religious critics in ancient Greece, such as Diagoras "the atheist" of Melos, and in the 1st century BCE in Rome, with Titus Lucretius Carus's De Rerum Natura.

During the Middle Ages and continuing into the Renaissance, potential critics of religion were persecuted and largely forced to remain silent. There were notable critics like Giordano Bruno, who was burned at the stake for disagreeing with religious authority.[111]

In the 17th and 18th century with the Enlightenment, thinkers like David Hume and Voltaire criticized religion.

In the 19th century, Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution led to increased skepticism about religion. Thomas Huxley, Jeremy Bentham, Karl Marx, Charles Bradlaugh, Robert Ingersol, and Mark Twain were noted 19th century and early 20th century critics. In the 20th century, Bertrand Russell, Siegmund Freud, and others continued religious criticism.

Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins, Victor J. Stenger, and the late Christopher Hitchens were active critics during the late 20th century and early 21st century.

Critics consider religion to be outdated, harmful to the individual (e.g. brainwashing of children, faith healing, circumcision), harmful to society (e.g. holy wars, terrorism, wasteful distribution of resources), to impede the progress of science, to exert social control, and to encourage immoral acts (e.g. blood sacrifice, discrimination against homosexuals and women). A major criticism of many religions is that they require beliefs that are irrational, unscientific, or unreasonable, because religious beliefs and traditions lack scientific or rational foundations.

Some modern-day critics, such as Bryan Caplan, hold that religion lacks utility in human society; they may regard religion as irrational.[112] Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi has spoken out against undemocratic Islamic countries justifying "oppressive acts" in the name of Islam.[113]
See also
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Main articles: Outline of religion and Index of religion-related articles

Belief
Cult (religious practice)
Life stance
List of foods with religious symbolism
List of religious populations
List of religious texts
Morality and religion
Nontheistic religions
Philosophy of religion
Priest
Religion and happiness
Religion and peacebuilding
Religions by country
Religious conversion
Sociology of religion
Temple
Theocracy
Timeline of religion

References

[Tina]

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can. (November 2009)

The timeline of religion is a chronological catalog of important and noteworthy religious events in prehistoric and modern times. This article reaches extensively into prehistoric times, as the bulk of the human religious experience is not relegated to written history. Written history is only approximately 5000 years old (the age of formal writing). A lack of written records is that much knowledge of prehistoric religion is derived from archaeological records, other indirect sources, and suppositions. Much of religious prehistory is subject to continued debate.
Contents

1 Prehistoric period (300th millennium to 34th century BCE)
1.1 300th to 51st millennium BCE
1.2 50th to 11th millennium BCE
1.3 100th to 34th century BCE
2 Ancient history (33rd century BCE to 3rd century CE)
2.1 33rd to 12th century BCE
2.2 13th to 9th century BCE
2.3 8th to 3rd century BCE
2.4 2nd century BCE to 4th century CE
3 Middle Ages (5th to 15th century)
3.1 5th to 9th century
3.2 10th to 15th century
4 Early modern and Modern era (16th to 20th century)
4.1 16th to 18th century
4.2 19th to 20th century
5 Post-modern period (21st century)
5.1 21st century
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
9 Footnotes

Prehistoric period (300th millennium to 34th century BCE)
See also: Prehistoric religion, Paleolithic religion, and Evolutionary origin of religions

A commonly held marker for the dawn of religious belief and practice is with the advent of intentional burial marks,[1] thus included in this section.
300th to 51st millennium BCE

223,000 – 100,000 BCE
The earliest evidence of Hominids, such as Neanderthals[2][3] and even Homo heidelbergensis,[3][4] deliberately disposing of deceased individuals usually in funerary caches. The graves, located throughout Eurasia (e.g. the Pontnewydd Cave, Atapuerca Mountains, Qafzeh, Es Skhul, Krapina),[3] are believed to represent the beginnings of ceremonial rites, although there is some debate about this.[5] Neanderthals placed their deceased in simple graves with little or no concern for grave goods or markers; however, their graves occasionally appeared with limestone blocks in or on them, possibly an archaic form of grave marking.[3] These practices were possibly the result of empathetic feelings towards fellow tribespeople, for example: an infant buried in the Dederiyeh Cave after its joints had disarticulated was placed with concern for the correct anatomical arrangement of its body parts.[3]

98,000 BCE
In the area of present-day France and Belgium, Neanderthals begin defleshing their dead, possibly after a period of excarnation prior to burial.[3]

50th to 11th millennium BCE

40,000 BCE
One of the earliest anatomically modern humans to be cremated is buried near Lake Mungo.[6][7][8][9][10]

33,000 BCE
All convincing evidence for Neanderthal burials ceases. Roughly coinciding with the time period of the Homo sapiens introduction to Europe and decline of the Neanderthals.[3]

25,000 BCE
Individual skulls and/or long bones begin appearing heavily stained with red ochre and are separately buried. This practice may be the origins of sacred relics.[3]

The oldest discovered "Venus figurines" appear in graves. Some are deliberately broken or repeatedly stabbed. Possibly representing murders of the men they are buried with[3] or some other unknown social dynamic.

25,000 – 21,000 BCE
Clear examples of burials are present in Iberia, Wales, and Eastern Europe. All of these, also, incorporate the heavy use of red ochre. Additionally, various objects are being included in the graves (i.e. periwinkle shells, weighted clothing, dolls, possible drumsticks, mammoth ivory beads, fox teeth pendants, panoply of ivory artifacts, "baton" antlers, flint blades, etc.).[3]

21,000 – 11,000 BCE
Convincing evidence of mortuary activity ceases.[3]

13,000 – 8,000 BCE
Noticeable burial activity resumes. Prior mortuary activity had either taken a less obvious form or contemporaries retained some of their burial knowledge in the absence of such activity; dozens of men, women, and children were being buried in the same caves which were used for burials 10,000 years beforehand. All these graves are delineated by the cave walls and large limestone blocks. The burials are very similar to each other and share a number of characteristics—ochre, shell and mammoth ivory jewellery—that go back thousands of years. Some burials are double, comprising an adult male with a juvenile male buried by his side. They are now appearing to take on the form of modern cemeteries. Old burials are commonly being redug and moved to make way for the new ones, with the older bones often being gathered and cached together. Large stones may have acted as grave markers. Pairs of ochred antlers are sometimes poles within the cave; this is compared to the modern practice of leaving flowers at one's grave.[3]

100th to 34th century BCE

9831
The Neolithic Revolution begins and results in a worldwide population explosion. The first cities, states, kingdoms, and organized religions begin to emerge. The early states were usually theocracies, in which the political power is justified by religious prestige.

9130 – 7370 BCE
The apparent lifespan of Göbekli Tepe, the oldest human-made place of worship yet discovered.[11]

8000 BCE
Four to five pine posts are erected near the eventual site of Stonehenge.

7500 – 5700 BCE
The settlements of Catalhoyuk develop as a likely spiritual center of Anatolia. Possibly practicing worship in communal shrines, its inhabitants leave behind numerous clay figurines and impressions of phallic, feminine, and hunting scenes.

5500 – 4500 BCE
The Proto-Indo-Europeans (PIE) emerged, probably within the Pontic-Caspian steppe (though their exact urheimat is debated). The PIE peoples developed a religion focused on sacrificial ideology, which would influence the religions of the descendent Indo-European cultures throughout Europe, Anatolia, and the Indian sub-continent.

~3750 BCE
The Proto-Semitic people emerged with a generally accepted urheimat in the Arabian peninsula. The Proto-Semitic people would migrate throughout the Near East into Mesopotamia, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Their religion would influence their descendant cultures and faiths, including the Abrahamic religions.

Ancient history (33rd century BCE to 3rd century CE)
See also: History of religion
33rd to 12th century BCE

3228 – 3102 BCE
Traditionally accepted time of Krishna's life on Earth (One of the revered gods in Hinduism).[12][13][14][15][16][17]

3100 BCE
The initial form of Stonehenge is completed. The circular bank and ditch enclosure, about 110 metres (360 ft) across, may be complete with a timber circle.

3100 – 2900 BCE
Newgrange, the 250,000 ton (226,796.2 tonne) passage tomb aligned to the winter solstice in Ireland, is built.[18]

3000 BCE
Sumerian Cuneiform emerges from the proto-literate Uruk period, allowing the codification of beliefs and creation of detailed historical religious records.
The second phase of Stonehenge is completed and appears to function as the first enclosed cremation cemetery in the British Isles.
2635 – 2610 BCE
The oldest surviving Egyptian Pyramid is commissioned by pharaoh Djoser.
2600 BCE
Stonehenge begins to take on the form of its final phase. The wooden posts are replaced with that of bluestone. It begins taking on an increasingly complex setup—including altar, portal, station stones, etc.—and shows consideration of solar alignments.
2560 BCE
The approximate time accepted as the completion of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the oldest pyramid of the Giza Plateau.
2494 – 2345 BCE
The first of the oldest surviving religious texts, the Pyramid Texts, are composed in Ancient Egypt.

2200 BCE
Minoan Civilization in Crete develops. Citizens worship a variety of Goddesses.
2150 – 2000 BCE
The earliest surviving versions of the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh (originally titled "He who Saw the Deep" (Sha naqba īmuru) or "Surpassing All Other Kings" (Shūtur eli sharrī)) were written.
2000 – 1850 BCE
The traditionally accepted period in which the Judeochristian/Islamic patriarchal figure Abraham lived. Likely born in Ur Kaśdim or Haran and died in Machpelah, Canaan.
1700 BCE
Zoroaster (a.k.a. Zarathushtra), founder of Zoroastrianism is thought to have been born.
1600 BCE
The ancient development of Stonehenge comes to an end.
1500 – 1000 BCE
Vedic 'Samhitas' composed (Rig-Veda : Hinduism : India)

13th to 9th century BCE

1367 BCE
Reign of Akhenaten in Ancient Egypt. Akhenaten is sometimes credited with starting the earliest known monotheistic religion. Akenaten's monotheistic beliefs are thought to be the precursor of the monotheistic doctrines of the Abrahamic religions.
1300 – 1000 BCE
The "standard" Akkadian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh was edited by Sin-liqe-unninni.
1250 BCE
The believed time of the Hebrew exodus from Egypt.
1200 BCE
The Greek Dark Age begins.
1200 BCE
Olmecs build earliest pyramids and temples in Central America.[19]
950 BCE
The Torah begins to be written, the core texts of Judaism and foundation of later Abrahamic religions.
877–777 BCE
Parshva, 23rd Tirthankar of Jainism.[20][21][22][23][24][25]

8th to 3rd century BCE

800 BCE
Early Brahmanas are composed.
800 BCE
The Greek Dark Age ends.
600 – 500 BCE
Earliest Confucian writing, Shu Ching incorporates ideas of harmony and heaven.
599–527 BCE
Mahavira, 24th and last Tirthankar of Jainism.[26]
600–400 BCE
Probable time of existence of Laozi, author of the Tao Te Ching, considered the founding work of philosophical Taoism.
563 BCE
Gautama Buddha, founder of Buddhism is born.
551 BCE
Confucius, founder of Confucianism, is born.[19]
440 BCE
Zoroastrianism enters recorded history.
300 BCE
Theravada Buddhism is introduced to Sri Lanka by the Venerable Mahindra.
250 BCE
The Third Buddhist council was convened.

2nd century BCE to 4th century CE

150 BCE
The oldest surviving Hebrew Bible manuscripts date to about the 2nd century BCE (fragmentary).
63 BCE
Pompey captures Jerusalem and annexes Judea as a Roman client kingdom.
7 BCE – 36 CE
The approximate time-frame for the life of Jesus of Nazareth, the central figure of Christianity.
50–62
Council of Jerusalem is held.
70
Siege of Jerusalem and the Destruction of the Temple.
220
Manichaean Gnosticism is formed by prophet Mani
250
Some of the oldest parts of the Ginza Rba, a core text of Mandaean Gnosticism, are written.
250 – 900
Classic Mayan civilization, Stepped pyramids are constructed.
300
The oldest known version of the Tao Te Ching is written on bamboo tablets.
313
The Edict of Milan decrees religious toleration in the Roman empire.
325
The first Ecumenical Council, the Council of Nicaea, is convened to attain a consensus on doctrine through an assembly representing all of Christendom. It establishes the original Nicene Creed, fixes Easter date, confirms primacy of the sees of Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch, and grants the See of Jerusalem a position of honor.
350
The oldest record of the complete text survives in a Greek translation called the Septuagint, dating to the (appx. placement here) 4th century CE (Codex Sinaiticus).
380
Theodosius I declares Nicene Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire.
381
The second Ecumenical Council, the Council of Constantinople, reaffirms/revises the Nicene Creed repudiating Arianism and Macedonianism.
381 – 391
Theodosius proscripted Paganism within the Roman Empire.
393
The Synod of Hippo, the first time a council of bishops of early Christianity listed and approved a biblical canon.

Middle Ages (5th to 15th century)
See also: History of religions#Middle Ages
5th to 9th century

405
St. Jerome completes the Vulgate, the first Latin translation of the Bible.
410
The Western Roman Empire begins to decline, signaling the onset of the Dark Ages.
424
The Assyrian Church of the East formally separates from the See of Antioch and the western Syrian Church
431
The third Ecumenical Council, the Council of Ephesus, is held as a result of the controversial teachings of Nestorius, of Constantinople. It repudiates Nestorianism, proclaims the Virgin Mary as the Theotokos ("Birth-giver to God", "God-bearer", "Mother of God"), repudiates Pelagianism, and again reaffirmes the Nicene Creed.
449
The Second Council of Ephesus declares support of Eutyches and attacked his opponents. Originally convened as an Ecumenical council, its ecumenicality is rejected and is denounced as a latrocinium by the Chalcedonian.
451
The fourth Ecumenical Council, the Council of Chalcedon rejects the Eutychian doctrine of monophysitism, adopts the Chalcedonian Creed, reinstated those deposed in 449 and deposed Dioscorus of Alexandria, and elevates of the bishoprics of Constantinople and Jerusalem to the status of patriarchates.
451
The Oriental Orthodox Church rejects the christological view put forth by the Council of Chalcedon and is excommunicated.
480 – 547
The Rule of Saint Benedict is written by Benedict of Nursia, the founder of Western Christian monasticism.
553
The fifth Ecumenical Council, Second Council of Constantinople, repudiates the Three Chapters as Nestorian and condemns Origen of Alexandria.
570 – 632
Life-time of Muhammad ibn 'Abdullāh RA, the founder of Islam and considered by Muslims to be a messenger of God.
632–661
The Rashidun Caliphate(Rightly Guided) brings Arab conquest of Persia, Egypt, Iraq, bringing Islam into those regions.
650
The verses of the Qur'an are compliled in the form of a book in the era of Uthman RA, the third Caliph of Islam.
661–750
The Umayyad Caliphate brings Arab conquest of North Africa, Spain, Central Asia. Marking the greatest extent of the Arab conquests bringing Islam into those regions.
680 – 681
The sixth Ecumenical Council, the Third Council of Constantinople, rejects Monothelitism and Monoenergism.
Circa 680 the split between Sunni and Shiites starts to grow.
692
The Quinisext Council (aka "Council in Trullo"), an amendment to the 5th and 6th Ecumenical Councils, establishes the Pentarchy.
712
Kojiki, the oldest Shinto text is written[19]
754
The latrocinium Council of Hieria supports iconoclasm.
787
The seventh Ecumenical Council, Second Council of Nicaea, restores the veneration of icons and denounces iconoclasm.
850
The oldest extant manuscripts of the vocalized Masoretic text upon which modern editions are based date to the (appx.) 9th century CE.

10th to 15th century

1054
The Great Schism between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches formally takes place.
1095 – 1099
The first Crusade takes place.
1107 – 1110
Sigurd I of Norway wages the Norwegian Crusade on Muslims in Spain, the Baleares, and in Palestine.
1147 – 1149
The Second Crusade is waged in response to the fall of the County of Edessa.
1189 – 1192
The Third Crusade, European leaders attempt to reconquer what they considered the Holy Land from Saladin.
1191
Dehli Sulatanate is established.
1199 – 1204
The Fourth Crusade takes place.
1204
Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade sack the Christian Eastern Orthodox city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire.
1209 – 1229
The Albigensian Crusade takes place in Occitania, Europe.
1217 – 1221
The Church attempts the Fifth Crusade.
1222
Nichiren Daishonin the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law and founder of Nichiren Buddhism is born,
based at Nichiren Shoshu Head Temple Taisekiji (Japan), Nam(u)-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō
1228 – 1229
The Sixth Crusade occurs.
1229
The Codex Gigas is completed by Herman the Recluse in the Benedictine monastery of Podlažice near Chrudim.
1244
Jerusalem is sacked again, instigating the Seventh Crusade.
1270
The Eighth Crusade is organized.
1271 – 1272
The Ninth Crusade fails.
1320
Pope John XXII lays the groundwork for the future witch-hunts with the formalization of the persecution of witchcraft.
1378 – 1417
The Roman Catholic Church is split during the Western Schism.
1469 – 1539
The life of Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism.
1484
Pope Innocent VIII marks the beginning of the classical European witch-hunts with his papal bull Summis desiderantes.
1500
African religious systems are introduced to the Americas, with the commencement of the trans-Atlantic forced migration.
1517
Martin Luther, of the Protestant Reformation, posts the 95 theses.
In the Spanish Empire, Catholicism is spread and encouraged through such institutions as missions and the Inquisition.
1562
The Massacre of Vassy spark the first a long series of French Wars of Religion.

Early modern and Modern era (16th to 20th century)
See also: History of religions#Modern period
16th to 18th century

1699
The creation of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh Ji in Sikhism

1708
Death of Guru Gobind Singh, the last human Guru, who, before his death, instituted the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, as the eternal Guru.

1789 – 1799
The Dechristianisation of France during the Revolution.[27][28] The state confiscates Church properties, bans monastic vows, with the passage of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy removes the Church from the Roman Pope and subordinates it as a department of the Government, replaces the traditional Gregorian Calendar, and abolishes Christian holidays.
1791
Freedom of religion, enshrined in the Bill of Rights, is amended into the constitution of the United States forming an early and influential secular government.

19th to 20th century

1801
The situation following the French Revolution, France and Pope Pius VII entered into the Concordat of 1801. While "Catholicism" regains some powers and becomes recognized as "...the religion of the great majority of the French", it's not reafforded the latitude it had enjoyed prior to the Revolution. It's not the official state religion, the Church relinquishes all claims to estate seized after 1790, the clergy is state salaried and must swear allegiance to the State, and religious freedom is maintained.
1819 – 1850
The life of Siyyid 'Alí Muḥammad Shírází (Persian: سيد علی ‌محمد شیرازی) Bab (October 20, 1819 – July 9, 1850), the founder of Bábism.
1817 – 1892
The life of Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith.
1830
The Latter Day Saint movement (Mormonism) is founded by Joseph Smith, Jr.
1835 – 1908
Lifetime of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the messianic Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam.
1899
Aradia (aka the Gospel of the Witches), one of the earliest books describing post witchhunt European religious Witchcraft, is published by Charles Godfrey Leland.[29]
1904
Thelema founded.
1905
In France the law on the Separation of the Churches and the State is passed, officially establishing it a state secularism and putting and end to the funding of religious groups by the state.[30]
Becoming a place of pilgrimage for neo-druids and other pagans, the Ancient Order of Druids organized the first recorded reconstructionist ceremony in Stonehenge.
1908
The establishment of the Khalifatul Masih after Prophethood in the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Second Manifestation of God's Power.
1917
The October Revolution, in Russia, leads to the annexation of all church properties and subsequent religious suppression.
the 1917 Constitution of Mexico is written making Mexico a secular state.
1926
Cao Dai founded.
The Cristero War is fought in Mexico between the secular governmenr and religious christian rebels ends 1929.
1930s
Rastafari movement, the Nation of Islam is founded.
1932
A neo-Hindu religious movement,the Brahma Kumaris or "Daughters of Brahma" started the origin of BKWSU can be traced to the group "Om Mandali", founded by Lekhraj Kripalani(1884–1969).
1938
The first event of the Holocaust, the Kristallnacht, takes place.
1939 – 1945
Millions of Jews are relocated and killed by the Nazi government during Holocaust.
1947
British India is partitioned on religious lines; into an Islamic country of Pakistan and the secular nation of India with a Hindu majority.
1948
The Jews return to their ancient biblical homeland and the state of Israel is created.
1952
Scientology is created.
1954
Wicca is publicized by Gerald Gardner.[31]
1960s
Various Neopagan and New Age movements gain momentum.
1961
Unitarian Universalism formed from merger of Unitarianism and Universalism.[32]
1962
The Church of All Worlds, the first American neo-pagan church, is formed by a group including Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, and Richard Lance Christie.
1962 – 1965
The Second Vatican Council takes place.[33][34][35][36]
1965
Srila Prabhupada establishes the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and introduces translations of the Bhagavad-Gita and Vedic Scriptures in mass production all over the world.
1966
Anton Szandor LaVey's Satanism begins, with Anton Szandor LaVey's founding of the Church of Satan,[37] although Satanism in itself has always been defined by the Christians themselves.
1972 – 1984
The Stonehenge free festivals are held.[38]
1973
Claude Vorilhon established the Raëlian Movement and changed his name to Raël following a purported extraterrestrial encounter in December 1973.
1984
Operation Blue Star occurs at holiest site of the Sikhs, the Golden Temple in Amritsar. 1984 Anti-Sikh riots follow.
1972 – 2004
Germanic Neopaganism (aka Heathenism, Heathenry, Ásatrú, Odinism, Forn Siðr, Vor Siðr, and Theodism) begins to experience a second wave of revival.[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60]
1979
The Iranian Revolution results in the establishment of an Islamic Republic in Iran.
1981
The Stregherian revival continues. "The Book of the Holy Strega" and "The Book of Ways" Volume I & II are published.
1985
The Battle of the Beanfield forces an end to the Stonehenge free festivals.[38][61][62]
1989
The revolutions of 1989, the overthrow of many Soviet-style states,[63] allows a resurgence in open religious practice in many Eastern European countries.[citation needed]
1990s
European pagan reconstructive movements (Celtic, Hellenic, Roman, Slavic, Baltic, Finnish, etc.) organize.
1993
The European Council convened in Copenhagen, Denmark, agrees to criteria requiring religious freedom within any and all prospective members of the European Union.
1998
The Strega Arician Tradition is founded.[64]

Post-modern period (21st century)
See also: History of religion
21st century

2001
Osama bin Laden's declaration of holy war, by al-Qaeda and not more than this, reaches a climax with 2,993 dead, through al-Qaeda's actions on 11 September.[65][66][67][68][69][70]

2008
The only Hindu Kingdom in the world, Nepal, is declared to be secular by its Constituent Assembly after declaring the state a Republic on 28 May 2008.

2009
The Church of Scientology in France is fined €600,000 and several of its leaders are fined and sentenced to jail for defrauding new recruits out of their savings.[71][72][73] The state fails to disband the church due to legal changes occurring over the same time period.[73][74]

See also

Axial age
Evolutionary origin of religions
History of religions
Holocene era
Tarantian stage
Ionian stage
Paleolithic Religion
Prehistoric religion
Religion and mythology

References

[Tina]

Comparative religion is that branch of the study of religions concerned with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices of the world's religions. There are many benefits to such a course of enquiry but in general the comparative study of religion yields a deeper understanding of the fundamental philosophical concerns of religion such as ethics, metaphysics and the nature and form of salvation. A person who has undertaken such a course of study has a much richer and more sophisticated understanding of human beliefs and practices regarding the sacred, numinous, spiritual and divine.[1]

In the field of comparative religion, the main world religions are generally classified as Abrahamic, Indian or Taoic. Areas of study also include creation myths and Humanism.
Contents

1 Abrahamic religions
1.1 Comparing Abrahamic religions
2 Indian religions
2.1 Comparing dharmic religions
3 Taoic religions
3.1 Comparing Taoic religions
4 Comparing traditions
5 See also
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links

Abrahamic religions
Main article: Abrahamic religion
Unbalanced scales.svg
The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (January 2012)

In the study of comparative religion, the category of Abrahamic religions consists of the three monotheistic religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, which claim Abraham (Hebrew Avraham אַבְרָהָם ; Arabic Ibrahim إبراهيم ) as a part of their sacred history. Other religions (such as the Bahá'í Faith) that fit this description are sometimes included but are often omitted.[2]

The original belief in the One God of Abraham eventually became present-day Rabbinic Judaism. Christians believe that Christianity is the fulfillment and continuation of the Jewish Old Testament. Christians believe that Jesus (Hebrew Yeshua יֵשׁוּעַ) is the Messiah (Christ) foretold in the Old Testament prophecy, and believe in subsequent New Testament revelations based on the divine authority of Jesus in Christian belief (as the Incarnation of God). Islam believes the present Christian and Jewish scriptures have been corrupted over time and are no longer the original divine revelations as given to Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. For Muslims, the Qur'an is the final, complete revelation from God (Arabic الله Allah), who believe it to have been revealed to Muhammad, who is believed by Muslims to be the final prophet of Islam.
Comparing Abrahamic religions
Main articles: Christianity and Judaism, Islam and Judaism, and Christianity and Islam
See also: Judeo-Christian, Supersessionism, People of the Book, Tahrif, Biblical narratives and the Qur'an, Judeo-Islamic philosophies (800 - 1400), Judaism's view of Jesus, Judaism's views on Muhammad, and Medieval Christian views on Muhammad

Christianity and Judaism are two closely related Abrahamic religions that in some ways parallel each other and in other ways diverge in theology and practice.

The historical interaction of Islam and Judaism started in the 7th century CE with the origin and spread of Islam. There are many common aspects between Islam and Judaism, and as Islam developed, it gradually became the major religion closest to Judaism. As opposed to Christianity which originated from interaction between ancient Greek and Hebrew cultures, Judaism is very similar to Islam in its fundamental religious outlook, structure, jurisprudence and practice.[3] There are many traditions within Islam originating from traditions within the Hebrew Bible or from post-biblical Jewish traditions. These practices are known collectively as the Isra'iliyat.[4]

The historical interaction between Christianity and Islam connects fundamental ideas in Christianity with similar ones in Islam. Islam and Christianity share their origins in the Abrahamic tradition, although Christianity predates Islam by centuries. Islam accepts many aspects of Christianity as part of its faith - with some differences in interpretation - and rejects other aspects. Islam believes the Qur'an is the final revelation from God and a completion of all previous revelations, including the Bible.
Indian religions

The term "Indian religions" refers to a number of religions that have originated on the Indian subcontinent. They encompass Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
Comparing dharmic religions
The Rig Veda is one of the oldest Vedic texts. Shown here is a Rig Veda manuscript in Devanagari, early nineteenth century.
Main articles: Buddhism and Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, and Jainism and Sikhism
Further information: Buddha as an Avatar of Vishnu, Gautama Buddha in world religions, and God in Buddhism

Buddhism and modern Hinduism are both post-Vedic religions. Gautama Buddha is mentioned as an Avatar of Vishnu in the Puranic texts of Hinduism. Some Hindus believe the Buddha accepted and incorporated many tenets of Hinduism in his doctrine, however, Buddhists disagree and state there was no such thing as Hinduism at the time of Buddha and in fact, "Indeed, it absorbed so many Buddhist traits that it is virtually impossible to distinguish the latter in medieval and later Hinduism."[5] Prominent Hindu reformers such as Gandhi[6] and Vivekananda[7] acknowledge Buddhist influence. Gandhi, like Hindus, did not believe Buddha established a non-Hindu tradition. He writes, "I do not regard Jainism or Buddhism as separate from Hinduism."[8]
Taoic religions
Main article: East Asian religions
Further information: Tao and De
The Chinese character depicting Tao, the central concept in Taoism.

A Taoic religion is a religion, or religious philosophy, that focuses on the East Asian concept of Tao ("The Way"). This forms a large group of religions including Taoism, Confucianism, Jeung San Do, Shinto, Yiguandao, Chondogyo, Chen Tao and Caodaism. In large parts of East Asia, Buddhism has taken on some taoic features.

Tao can be roughly stated to be the flow of the universe, or the force behind the natural order. It is believed to be the influence that keeps the universe balanced and ordered and is associated with nature, due to a belief that nature demonstrates the Tao. The flow of Ch'i, as the essential energy of action and existence, is compared to the universal order of Tao. Following the Tao is also associated with a "proper" attitude, morality and lifestyle. This is intimately tied to the complex concept of De, or literally "virtue" or "power." De is the active expression of Tao.

Taoism and Ch'an Buddhism for centuries had a mutual influence on each other in China, Korea and Vietnam. These influences were inherited by Zen Buddhism when Ch'an Buddhism arrived in Japan and adapted as Zen Buddhism.
Comparing Taoic religions

Taoism and other religions
East Asian Buddhism

Comparing traditions
Further information: Eastern religions, Western religions, prehistoric religion, religions of the Ancient Near East, Proto-Indo-Iranian religion, and Proto-Indo-European religion

Bahá'í Faith

Bahá'í Faith and other religions
Bahá'í Faith and Buddhism
Bahá'í Faith and Hinduism
Bahá'í Faith and Zoroastrianism

Buddhism

Bahá'í Faith and Buddhism
Buddhist–Christian Studies
Buddhism and Christianity
Buddhism and Eastern religions
Buddhism and Gnosticism
Buddhism and Hinduism
Buddhism and Jainism
Buddhism and Theosophy
Parallels between Buddha and Jesus

Christianity

Christianity and other religions
Buddhism and Christianity
Buddhist–Christian Studies
Christianity and Islam
Christianity and Judaism
Christianity and Neopaganism
Christianity and Paganism
Christianity and Vodou
History of Hindu–Christian Encounters, AD 304 to 1996
Parallels between Buddha and Jesus

Hinduism

Hinduism and other religions
Ayyavazhi and Hinduism
Bahá'í Faith and Hinduism
Buddhism and Hinduism
Hinduism and Islam

Islam

Islam and other religions
Christianity and Islam
Hinduism and Islam
Islam and Jainism
Islam and Judaism
Islam and Sikhism
Mormonism and Islam

Jainism

Buddhism and Jainism
Islam and Jainism
Jainism and Sikhism

Mormonism

Mormonism and Christianity
Mormonism and Islam
Mormonism and Judaism

Paganism and Neopaganism

Christianity and Paganism
Christianity and Neopaganism

Sikhism

Hinduism and Sikhism
Islam and Sikhism
Jainism and Sikhism

Taoism

Taoism and other religions

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism and other religions

See also

Comparative mythology
Hierographology
Inclusivism
Institute for Interreligious Dialogue
Interfaith
List of religions
Panbabylonism
Patternism
Religious pluralism
Parallelomania

[Tina]

In historical analysis, biblical criticism and comparative mythology parallelomania refers to a phenomenon where authors perceive apparent similarities and construct parallels and analogies without historical basis.[1]

The concept was introduced to scholarly circles in 1961 by Rabbi Samuel Sandmel of the Hebrew Union College in a paper of the same title, where he stated that he had first encountered the term in a French book of 1830, but did not recall the author or the title.[2] Martin McNamara, MSC (Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy) stated that Sandmel's initial paper has proven to be "highly influential".[3]

Sandmel stated that the simple observations of similarity between historical events are often less than valid, but at times lead to a phenomenon where authors first notice a supposed similarity, overdose on analogy, and then "proceeds to describe source and derivation as if implying a literary connection flowing in an inevitable or predetermined direction."[1]

Christian and Jewish scholars have used the concept in a number of cases and areas, e.g. Thomas Schreiner (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) applies it to over-generalization of the simple use of the verb "see" used as a participle to refer to a casual act of observation, to extending its meaning to have deeper spiritual contexts in order to construct parallels.[4] Jewish scholar Jacob Neusner has stated that some portrayals of Aphrahat as someone who picked and chose among Rabbinical literature is based on weak parallels which fall within Sandmel's characterization of parallelomania.[5] Joseph Fitzmyer, SJ states the analyses of the Pauline Epistles have at times suffered from parallelomania through the construction of unwarranted analogies with prior traditions.[6] Gerald O'Collins, SJ states that most scholars are now aware of the pitfalls of parallelomania which exaggerate the importance of trifling resemblances.[7]

[Tina]

Fall Out Boy is an American pop punk band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The members originally played in local underground hardcore bands before forming Fall Out Boy. With Pete Wentz as the band's primary lyricist and Patrick Stump as the primary composer, Fall Out Boy broke out of the underground music scene and reached mainstream success with their major label album From Under the Cork Tree. Released in 2005 as the follow-up to their 2003 debut Take This to Your Grave, the album won several awards and achieved double platinum status after selling more than 2.7 million albums in the United States, spawning top ten singles "Sugar, We're Goin Down" and "Dance, Dance".

In 2007, Fall Out Boy released their third album Infinity on High, to major chart success, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 and selling 260,000 copies in its first week, with top five chartings worldwide. It contained the hits "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" and "Thnks fr th Mmrs". The group released Folie à Deux in 2008 and further evolved their musical palette. The group announced an indefinite hiatus in late 2009, stating that they have not broken up, rather that the members are taking a rest and engaging in various side projects. Stump released a solo album called Soul Punk in 2011, Wentz formed Black Cards, while Hurley and Trohman formed The Damned Things and then respectively moved onto With Knives and Enabler. Fall Out Boy was ranked the 93rd Best Artist of the 2000–10 decade by Billboard.[1] On February 4, 2013, Fall Out Boy announced their comeback with a new album, Save Rock and Roll, as well as a tour and a new single.[2]
Contents

1 History
1.1 Early years (2001–2002)
1.2 Take This to Your Grave (2003–2004)
1.3 From Under the Cork Tree (2005–2006)
1.4 Infinity on High and Live in Phoenix (2007)
1.5 Folie à Deux and Greatest Hits (2008–2009)
1.6 Hiatus and solo careers (2010–2012)
1.7 Reformation and Save Rock and Roll (2013–present)
2 Musical style and influences
3 Band members
4 Discography
5 Awards
6 References
7 External links

History
Early years (2001–2002)

Fall Out Boy was formed in early 2001 by friends Pete Wentz and Joe Trohman, who had played in various hardcore punk bands in the Chicago area. Inspired by bands they grew up listening to, such as Green Day, Descendents, and The Smiths, the pair decided to start their own band.[3] Trohman met high schooler Patrick Stump in a Borders Bookstore.[4] Stump introduced himself to Trohman when he overheard him talking about the band Neurosis, in which they shared a mutual interest.[4] Stump auditioned as a drummer, but the discovery of his impressive vocal range led to his placement as the lead vocalist.[5] Ben Rose was the drummer for the band's first line-up although he shortly left. Several line-up changes in the rhythm guitar and drumming positions would follow before drummer Andy Hurley joined, with three of the four founding members the current members.

The band was nameless for their first two shows. They decided that the audience should decide, and at the end of their second show they asked the audience to yell out their ideas for a name. One audience member suggested "Fallout Boy",[4][6] a reference to the sidekick of the Radioactive Man from The Simpsons[3][7] (which the band performed the closing theme song for in the 2009 episode "Lisa the Drama Queen"). The following year, the band debuted with a self-released demo and followed it up with the May 28, 2002 release of Project Rocket / Fall Out Boy split EP with Project Rocket, on the small independent label Uprising Records.
Take This to Your Grave (2003–2004)

The group released a mini-LP, Fall Out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girlfriend, on Uprising in 2003.[8] The album was recorded in two days in early 2002 and was released against the band's wishes. During this period the band played small shows as part of the indie rock underground Chicago music scene, before any mainstream success.

Following the release of their mini-album, the band saw a lineup change with the addition of Andy Hurley (formerly of Racetraitor) on drums and Stump picking up guitar, completing the current four-piece band. During this time, the band often played local shows at The Knights of Columbus Hall in Arlington Heights, Illinois, the site of their "Dead on Arrival" video.[9] The same year, after signing to indie label Fueled by Ramen, they released their first full-length album and second studio effort, Take This to Your Grave, on May 6, 2003. To record a proper debut, the band received an advance from major label Island Records which came with a right of first refusal for Island on Fall Out Boy's next album.[10] With financing in place, the band recorded Take This to Your Grave at the Butch Vig-owned Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin, with Sean O'Keefe as the producer.[10] The album has been credited with earning the band's first significant fan base, as well as some minor commercial success. Fall Out Boy extensively toured all year long at small venues, and earnt opening acts for bands in the scene such as Less Than Jake, Yellowcard, Taking Back Sunday and blink-182.

For Take This to Your Grave, Stump collaborated with Wentz on the lyrics. Wentz recalled that "Take This To Your Grave was very reactionary. It was like this person does this to you."[11] During the making of the album, the band members slept on the floor of a stranger's house for two weeks. The group ran out of money halfway through the process, so they asked the studio which provided them with soda to give them small amounts of food instead.[12] Fall Out Boy's goal with Grave was to make an album that was as "seamless and good from song to song" as Saves the Day's Through Being Cool.[13] With singles "Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy" and "Saturday" receiving video airplay on FUSE, mtvU and Target's in-store video stream and radio airplay across the country, the album sold very well and was eventually certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 500,000 copies,[14] but only after the success of the band's next album, From Under the Cork Tree.

In mid-2003, as part of their deal with Fueled By Ramen, Fall Out Boy signed with major label Island Records which is a part of the mainstream label Island Def Jam Music Group, along with Def Jam Records. This was after the group picked up the option for their next album. In the meantime of recording their mainstream debut, the band released the acoustic EP/DVD My Heart Will Always Be the B-Side to My Tongue through Fueled by Ramen on May 18, 2004. It debuted at No. 153 on the Billboard 200, the band's first entry on the chart.[15] The two-disc set included more acoustic performances and a fan photo gallery.[8]
From Under the Cork Tree (2005–2006)

With bassist Pete Wentz as the band's primary lyricist, and vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump the primary composer, Fall Out Boy began work on a follow-up to Take This to Your Grave in late 2004. However, the group suffered a setback in February 2005 after Wentz's anxieties about creating a new record culminated in a suicide attempt.[11] Wentz explained, "It was overwhelming. I was either totally anxious or totally depressed. It is particularly overwhelming when you are on the cusp of doing something very big and thinking that it will be a big flop. I was racked with self-doubt."[11] After undergoing therapy, Wentz joined the rest of the band and headed to Burbank, California to record the album. Fall Out Boy rose to mainstream success with their Island major label album, From Under the Cork Tree.[8] Released on May 3, 2005, it debuted on the US Billboard 200 at No. 9, selling over 68,000 copies in its first week. It marked a lengthy stay of 77 weeks on the charts, logging 19 weeks in the top 20. The album achieved great commercial success and was certified double platinum after selling more than 2.5 million albums in the United States alone,[11][16] and it has sold over three million copies worldwide, making it the band's best-selling album.

From Under the Cork Tree was bolstered by the hit lead single "Sugar, We're Goin Down" which peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at No. 6 on the defunct Billboard Pop 100. The song spent five weeks in the top 10 and logged 20 weeks in the top 20. Receiving heavy airplay rotation at both Pop and Alternative stations, it charted at No. 3 on the Modern Rock Charts[17] and exposed the band to a new, mainstream audience via the radio and internet. It was a mainstay on the Hot 100, spending 42 weeks on the chart before it was retired. The music video reached number one on MTV's TRL, where it was retired on August 26, 2005. The video won the MTV2 Award at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, prompting a huge new interest and surge in sales. The song has sold over two million copies and is certified double platinum by the RIAA.[18][19] The band was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2006 Grammy Awards.

The second single released from the album, "Dance, Dance", became Fall Out Boy's second top 10 single when it peaked at No. 9 on the Hot 100 and stayed in the top 20 for 14 weeks. It reached No. 6 on the Pop 100, becoming the band's highest charting single in terms of airplay when it reached No. 2 on the Modern Rock Charts.[17] It contributed to Fall Out Boy's breakthrough mainstream success through heavy radio play. The music video for the song premiered on TRL on October 11, 2005; it soon also reached number one and was later retired on January 17, 2006. The third and last single commissioned from the album, "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More "Touch Me"", was much less popular than both prior singles, but still managed to peak at No. 65 on the Hot 100[17] and hit the top position twice on TRL, retiring on June 6, 2006.

In support of From Under the Cork Tree, Fall Out Boy headlined extensive tours around the world and performed at music festivals in 2005 and 2006, including the third Nintendo Fusion Tour in the fall of 2005, joining The Starting Line, Motion City Soundtrack, Boys Night Out, and Panic! at the Disco on a 31 city tour.[20] Due to its increased success from their MTV Video Music Award, the group headlined the Black Clouds and Underdogs Tour, a pop punk event that featured The All-American Rejects, Well-Known Secret, Hawthorne Heights, and From First to Last. The tour also featured The Hush Sound for half of the tour and October Fall for half. They played to 53 dates in the US, Canada, and the UK.[21]
Infinity on High and Live in Phoenix (2007)

After taking a two month long break following the band’s Black Clouds and Underdogs tour in promotion of their 2005 album From Under the Cork Tree, Fall Out Boy returned to the studio to begin work on a follow-up effort.[22] The band began writing songs for the new album while touring, and intended to quickly make a new album in order to keep momentum in the wake of its breakthrough success.[23] In early 2007, Fall Out Boy released their fourth studio album, Infinity on High, as their second release on major label Island. The album marked a departure in Fall Out Boy’s sound in which the band implemented a diverse array of musical styles including funk, R&B, and flamenco.[22][24] As reported by Billboard, Fall Out Boy "drifts further from its hardcore punk roots to write increasingly accessible pop tunes," a slight departure from the group's previous more pop punk sound predominant on their 2003 effort, Take This to Your Grave.[25]

Infinity's first week was a major success and was the band's biggest selling week, selling 260,000 copies to debut at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200[26][27] and inside the top five worldwide. This charting was spurred by the lead single "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race", which reached No. 2 in both the US and UK as well as the top five in many other countries. On the band's decision to pick the song as the first single, Wentz commented "There may be other songs on the record that would be bigger radio hits, but this one had the right message."[28] "Thnks fr th Mmrs", the second single peaked just outside the top 10 at No. 11 on the strength of sales and popular radio play, and went on to sell over two million copies in the US.[29] It found its greatest success in Australia where it charted at No. 3. In 2007, Fall Out Boy placed at No. 9 in the Top Selling Digital Artists chart with 4,423,000 digital tracks sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[30] The album itself has sold over two million copies worldwide[31] and subsequently went RIAA Platinum.[32]

Fall Out Boy then headlined the 2007 Honda Civic Tour to promote the album. Though the tour was initially postponed due to personal issues,[33] it would take place with +44, Cobra Starship, The Academy Is... and Paul Wall as supporting acts. The band also headlined the Young Wild Things Tour, an international arena tour featuring Gym Class Heroes, Plain White T's and Cute Is What We Aim For.[34] Inspired by Maurice Sendak's 1963 children's book Where the Wild Things Are, the concert tour and included sets designed by artist Rob Dobi containing images from the book. Commenting on the decision to incorporate elements from the book, Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz explained "Where the Wild Things Are is a great narrative. It encapsulates pretty much every FOB song ever written: You know, tantrums and monster islands and all."[34]

"Beat It (feat. John Mayer)" cover excerpt
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From the album **** Live in Phoenix.
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A CD and DVD of live material recorded during a June 22, 2007, concert at Phoenix's Cricket Wireless Pavilion, a date of the Honda Civic Tour, was released on April 1, 2008. Of note, the album, simply called Live in Phoenix, contains a new studio recording covering Michael Jackson's "Beat It" with John Mayer as a guest guitarist.[35] The song premiered for the first time on Wentz's site Friends or Enemies,[36] and was released as a single on March 25, 2008. Following its release, it debuted at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at No. 19. On March 18, Fall Out Boy revealed plans to play a show in Antarctica so they would in the Guinness Book of World Records be the only band to play a concert on all seven continents in less than nine months. However, weather conditions prevented them from flying to Antarctica.[37] Instead, Wentz and Stump went on to break the world record for the most interviews conducted by a duo in a 24-hour period, setting the mark at seventy-four.[38]
Folie à Deux and Greatest Hits (2008–2009)

On December 16, 2008, the band released their fifth studio album, Folie à Deux, as a follow-up to their 2007 effort Infinity on High. Fall Out Boy further evolved their sound and took a new musical direction for the record. Folie debuted and peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 150,000 units. The album was certified gold for shipments of 500,000 copies, but commercially performed less than stellar in comparison to Infinity on High. The band collaborated with an extensive list of guest artists including Elvis Costello, Lil Wayne, Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco, Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship, Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes, Alex DeLeon of The Cab, William Beckett of The Academy Is..., Debbie Harry of Blondie, and Pharrell Williams.

The lead single preceding the album, "I Don't Care", was released on September 3, 2008 to iTunes, and was No. 68 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008.[39] Receiving much less radio play and interest than the band's prior hit single releases ("Sugar, We're Goin Down", "Dance, Dance", "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race") from previous albums, "I Don't Care" peaked at No. 21 on the Hot 100. The second single to receive radio play was "America's Suitehearts", released on December 8, 2008.

In January 2009, Fall Out Boy announced they would embark on the Believers Never Die Tour Part Deux Tour with supporting acts All Time Low, Hey Monday, Cobra Starship, Metro Station and 50 Cent and to support the Folie à Deux release. Its name is based on their 2004 Believers Never Die Tour. The group also performed alongside Kanye West and Kid Rock at the Youth Ball for the inauguration of President Barack Obama.[40] They also played for TV performances, including the 2009 Toyota Concert Series on the Today Show on May 22.[41]

On April 27, 2009 an EP was released on iTunes, titled America's Suitehearts: Remixed, Retouched, Rehabbed and Retoxed. It contains a remix from Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus. Fall Out Boy, along with Weezer, were the supporting acts for Blink-182's summer reunion tour in 2009.[42]

Fall Out Boy released a greatest hits compilation album titled Believers Never Die – Greatest Hits on November 17, 2009 soon after their tour with Blink-182 ended. It includes all the band's songs previously released as singles as well as two new songs and two rarities. One of the new songs is the full version of "Alpha Dog", which was released as the only single. It was a track that was previously released as a demo on the Welcome to the New Administration mixtape, and the other ""From Now On We're Enemies"". The album artwork, created by Daniel Danger,[43] features two skeletons hugging; a reference to the skeletons found outside of Mantua, Italy who were found buried together while locked in an embrace.[44] There are also numerous references to the band's career and previous works.

On November 20, 2009, the four band members announced they will be taking an indefinite hiatus, saying they were unsure of the future of the band. Bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz has said that his personal reason for taking a break is that he feels that his name and marriage to pop singer Ashlee Simpson had become a hindrance for the band. He added: "I think the world needs a little less Pete Wentz". The band has not broken up, but are instead on an indefinite break, "decompressing" as Wentz stated it.[45] On Tumblr, Stump wrote, "I am confident that we’ll have a record out sooner than later but there are currently no plans, no “2 years,” no “6 years,” no parameters. It might happen later than any of that, it might happen sooner. It is literally, as it’s always been, an indefinite hiatus. We never did breakup, we’re still friends, and we still would like to make music together [...] I’ll see all of you if/when the band works on a new record or tour. Until then though, I’m just gonna shut up about it and focus on Soul Punk and hopefully ongoing tour."[46] The members have also cited that they were overworked from the band's continuous writing, recording and touring schedule.
Hiatus and solo careers (2010–2012)

After the announcement of the band's hiatus, Fall Out Boy members moved on to musical side projects that they felt they could not participate in while Fall Out Boy was active. Guitarist Joe Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley teamed up with Keith Buckley and Josh Newton from Every Time I Die and Scott Ian and Rob Caggiano of Anthrax to form the heavy metal supergroup The Damned Things.[47] The band released their debut album Ironiclast in December 2010. Hurley also plays in the hardcore band Burning Empires,[48] as well as other hardcore punk/heavy metal bands. He continues to manage his record label, Fuck City.[49] With Damned Things on hiatus as Anthrax and Every Time I Die members are on new album cycles, Trohman formed With Knives and Hurley drums in the hardcore band Enabler.

In 2010, Patrick Stump began producing his debut solo album, titled Soul Punk[50] and released it on October 18, 2011. He has released a remix of an album track called "This City" to iTunes as the album's first single and created a music video for it. During his production of Soul Punk, Stump released his debut 6-song EP titled Truant Wave as a digital download to iTunes on February 22, 2011. Soul Punk features no guest musicians as Stump plays all the instruments on the album, as well as writing all lyrics, composing all music, and self-producing. He jokingly considers the album a "big, convoluted way to get me to play drums again, because I really just miss playing drums".[51]

In July 2010, Pete Wentz, with singer Bebe Rexha, formed the ska/electropop band Black Cards, a project inspired by a discussion Wentz had with producer Sam Hollander about mashing up ska, dance and reggae with 1980s British rock and pop to create a new experimental sound.[52] After several failed attempts to produce an album, Rexha left the band in January 2012 and the group reshuffled, announcing plans to release a mixtape, write new material, and continue to remix tracks by other artists. A remix mixtape of popular artists was released online, and Black Cards (Wentz, Spencer Peterson) is now a DJ duo. Wentz continues to manage his clothing label Clandestine Industries, record label Decaydance Records, film production company Bartskull films and two bars in Chicago and Barcelona. Wentz also acts as spokesperson of UNICEF's Tap Project, a fundraising project that helps bring clean drinking water to people worldwide.[53] Wentz has also expressed his interest in working on new music projects, though he hopes to move outside the limitations of the common 4/4 time signature of pop music. Commenting on this, Wentz stated, "I have ideas that extend beyond and I guess I scratched a lottery ticket enough that, because of my band, people let me do these (other) ideas, and some of them are good, some of them are not so good."[53]
Reformation and Save Rock and Roll (2013–present)

In 2012, rumours of Fall Out Boy writing new music started to circulate. It was revealed by Beau Bokan of Blessthefall on August 2, 2012 on his Twitter account that it was "official" that Fall Out Boy was writing a new record. However, Stump, Wentz, and Trohman were quick to deny any work by the band collectively to write new material.[54][55] Bokan has stated that he received the information about the reunion from one of the members of Fall Out Boy during Warped Tour.[56] Shortly after declaring their reunion Beau Bokan was asked by Fall Out Boy management team to remove the post.[56] Later in the year, Keltie Colleen, an employee at entertainment news program The Insider, also posted on Twitter that she received information that the band are working on new music.[57] Journalists have believed it is inevitable because of the negative reception surrounding both Wentz's and Stump's side projects.[55]

On February 4, 2013, the band officially announced that their hiatus had ended; announcing a new album entitled Save Rock and Roll, as well as a tour.[58] They commemorated the occasion in their hometown of Chicago by torching all of their previous albums at the original location of 1979's Disco Demolition Night, the place where Comiskey Park once stood.[59] The lead single from the album, "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)" was released following the announcement.[60] Fall Out Boy performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on February 13, 2013.[61] Save Rock and Roll will be released April 16, 2013.[62] After a few secret shows in the US, Europe and Australia, they will embark on the Save Rock and Roll Tour from May 14, 2013 to June 30, 2013.[63] Fall Out Boy is also scheduled to play at Reading and Leeds in the UK, Summer Sonic in Japan, and headline Skate And Surf in New Jersey.
Musical style and influences

While widely considered to be a pop punk band,[64][65] Fall Out Boy has also been described as pop rock[66] and emo[67] and cites emo group The Get Up Kids as an influence among many other bands. When interviewed for a retrospective article in Alternative Press at the time The Get Up Kids disbanded in 2005, Pete Wentz stated that "Fall Out Boy would not be a band if it were not for The Get Up Kids."[68] Early in the band's career, when Jared Logan was producing their debut album, he asked bassist Pete Wentz what sound the band desired for recording. Wentz responded by "handing over the first two New Found Glory records".[69] The band acknowledges its hardcore punk roots as an influence; all four members were involved in the Chicago hardcore scene before joining Fall Out Boy.[11] Wentz described the band's affiliation with the genre by saying "I think the interesting thing is that we are all hardcore kids that are writing pop music...It gives us a different style because at our core we are always hardcore. That aspect is always going to be evident in the music. We are hardcore kids that couldn't quite cut it as hardcore kids."[11] He referred to Fall Out Boy's genre as "softcore": hardcore punk mixed with pop sensibility.[11] Lead singer Patrick Stump, however, was influenced by artists such as Prince, David Bowie and Michael Jackson.

Fall Out Boy's albums Take This to Your Grave and From Under the Cork Tree are both said to have pop punk as well as punk rock sounds and influences,[70][71] and Infinity on High features a wide range of styles and instrumentation, including orchestral and choral arrangements ("Thnks fr th Mmrs" and "You're Crashing, But You're No Wave") and a slower piano ballad ("Golden"). R&B influences on Infinity on High are on songs such as "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" and two of the album's tracks are produced by R&B singer/producer Babyface. On Folie à Deux, Fall Out Boy continues to evolve their sound, with less of a pop punk sound and increasing the use of piano ("What a Catch, Donnie", "Headfirst Slide into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet", and "20 Dollar Nose Bleed"), synthesizers, and guest artists. The band also shows a number of influences, with the opening track borrowing a chord sequence from The Who song "Baba O'Riley".[72] The group has worked with many producers and artists, including The Neptunes, Timbaland, Lil Wayne and Kanye West, the latter of which Patrick Stump described as "the Prince of his generation."[73]

A central part of Fall Out Boy's sound is rooted in the band's lyrics, mainly penned by bassist Pete Wentz, who commonly uses irony and other literary devices to narrate personal experience and stories.[70] He draws inspiration from authors such as Charles Bukowski, Ernest Hemingway, and JT LeRoy, as well as rappers such as Lil Wayne, who he described as his primary influence while writing Infinity on High.[74][75] On Fall Out Boy's earlier works, Wentz wrote primarily about love and heartbreak.[76] Themes addressed on From Under the Cork Tree include narcissism and megalomania, while many tracks on Infinity on High discuss the ups and downs of fame.[74][77][78] While writing Folie à Deux, he explored moral dilemmas and societal shortcomings, as well as concepts such as trust, infidelity, responsibility, and commitment.[79] While the album does contain political overtones, the band wanted to avoid being overt about these themes, leaving many lyrics open to interpretation for listeners.[79]
Band members

Current members

Patrick Stump – lead vocals (2001–2009, 2013–present), guitars (2003–2009, 2013–present)
Pete Wentz – bass guitar, backing vocals (2001–2009, 2013–present)
Joe Trohman – guitars, backing vocals (2001–2009, 2013–present)
Andy Hurley – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2003–2009, 2013–present)



Former members

Mike Pareskuwicz – drums, percussion (2001–2003)
T.J. "Racine" Kunasch – guitars, backing vocals (2001–2003)

Discography
Main article: Fall Out Boy discography

Studio albums

Take This to Your Grave (2003)
From Under the Cork Tree (2005)
Infinity on High (2007)
Folie à Deux (2008)
Save Rock and Roll (2013)

Awards

A select list of Fall Out Boy's awards and nominations.
Year Recipient Award Result
2005 "Sugar, We're Goin Down" MTV Video Music Award – MTV2 Award Won
2006 "Dance, Dance" MuchMusic Video Award – People's Choice: Favorite International Group Won
"Sugar, We're Goin Down" Kerrang! Award for Best Single Nominated
"Sugar, We're Goin Down" Kerrang! Award – Best Video Won
"Dance, Dance" Teen Choice Award – Rock Track Won
"Dance, Dance" Teen Choice Award – Single Won
Fall Out Boy Teen Choice Award – Rock Group Won
Fall Out Boy MTV Video Music Award – Viewer's Choice Won
Fall Out Boy Grammy Award for Best New Artist Nominated
2007 "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" Kerrang! Award – Best Video Won
"Thnks fr th Mmrs" Teen Choice Award – Single Won
Fall Out Boy Teen Choice Award – Best Group Won
Fall Out Boy MTV Video Music Award – Best Group Won
"Thnks fr th Mmrs" Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award – Single Won
2008 ""The Take Over, the Breaks Over"" MuchMusic Video Award – People's Choice: Favorite International Video Won
Fall Out Boy TMF Award – Best Live International Won
Fall Out Boy TMF Award – Best Rock International Won
Fall Out Boy TMF Award – Best Alternative International Won
"Beat It" MTV Video Music Award – Best Rock Video Nominated
Fall Out Boy Teen Choice Award – Choice Rock Group Nominated
Pete Wentz Teen Choice Award – Choice Hotties Nominated
2009 "I Don't Care" NRJ Music Award – Best International Band Nominated

[Tina]

Save Rock and Roll is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Fall Out Boy. It was produced by Butch Walker and released April 16, 2013, through Island Records and Decaydance Records. Following multiple touring stints and a mixed fan reaction to fourth record Folie à Deux (2008), the members of Fall Out Boy decided to take a break. During the hiatus, each member of the group pursued individual musical interests. The band felt it necessary to decompress and refrained from referring to the hiatus as a "breakup," promising to return in the future.

After several reformation attempts, the album was recorded in secrecy at Rubyred Recordings in Venice, California during the fall of 2012. Save Rock and Roll features guest vocals from Foxes, Big Sean, Courtney Love and Elton John. Upon release, it gained generally positive reviews from critics, who noted the musical progression but refrained from referring to the album as a rock record. Lead single "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)" charted worldwide within the top five in the United Kindgom and top 30 in the United States. The band will follow the record release with the Save Rock and Roll arena tour in promotion, with European and US legs announced.
Contents

1 Background
2 Recording and production
3 Title and artwork
4 Promotion
5 Reception
6 Track listing
7 Personnel
8 Chart performance
8.1 Weekly charts
9 Release history
10 References

Background

In 2009, following two nationwide tours and the release of a greatest hits compilation, the members of Fall Out Boy decided to take a break. The band's decision stemmed from disillusionment with the music industry and the constant promotion of fourth record Folie à Deux. The band's, specifically bassist/lyricist Pete Wentz, every movement had become fodder for gossip in tabloids, and lead vocalist/guitarist Patrick Stump recalled that "We found ourselves running on fumes a little bit -- creatively and probably as people, too."[6] In addition, the constant touring schedule had become difficult for the band due to conflicting fan opinion regarding Folie à Deux: concertgoers would "boo the band for performing numbers from the record in concert", leading Stump to describe touring in support of Folie as like "being the last act at the vaudeville show: We were rotten vegetable targets in Clandestine hoods."[7] "Some of us were miserable onstage," said Trohman. "Others were just drunk."[8] Stump realized the band was desperate to take a break; he sat the group down and explained that a hiatus was in order if the band wanted to continue in the future.[9] All involved felt the dynamic of the group had changed as personalities developed.[9]

Rumors and misquotes led to confusion as to what such a break truly meant; Wentz preferred to not refer to the break as a "hiatus," instead explaining that the band was just "decompressing."[10] Fall Out Boy played their last show at Madison Square Garden on October 4, 2009. Near the end, Blink-182's Mark Hoppus shaved Wentz's head in a move Rolling Stone would later describe as a "symbolic cleansing of the past, but also the beginning of a very dark chapter for the band."[9]

During the hiatus, the band members each pursued individual musical interests, which were met with "varying degrees of failure."[8] Stump was the only member of the quartet to take on a solo project while Fall Out Boy was on hiatus, recording debut album Soul Punk entirely on his own: he wrote, produced, and played every instrument for all tracks on the record. In addition, Stump married his longtime girlfriend and lost over sixty pounds through portion control and exercise.[11][12] Stump blew through most of his savings putting together a large band to tour behind Soul Punk, but ticket sales were sparse and the album stalled commercially.[8] During a particularly dark moment in February of 2012, Stump poured his heart out in a 1500-word blog entry called "We Liked You Better Fat: Confessions of a Pariah."[7][9] In the post, Stump lamented the failure of the record and his status as a "has-been" at 27. Stump revealed that fans harassed him on his solo tour, hurling insults such as "We liked you better fat," and noted that "Whatever notoriety Fall Out Boy used to have prevents me from having the ability to start over from the bottom again."[13] Aside from Soul Punk and personal developments, Stump moonlighted as a professional songwriter/producer, co-writing tracks with Bruno Mars and All Time Low, and pursued acting.[7]

Wentz, who had been abusing prescripton medications, split from wife Ashlee Simpson over "irreconcilable differences".[8][14] He formed electronic duo Black Cards with vocalist Bebe Rexha in July 2010. The project released one single before album delays led to Rexha's departure in 2011. Black Cards added Spencer Peterson to complete the Use Your Disillusion EP in 2012.[11] Wentz also completed writing a novel, Gray, that he had been working on for six years outside the band, and began hosting the reality tattoo competition show Best Ink.[15] Drummer Andy Hurley ventured farther into rock during the hiatus, drumming with multiple bands over the three-year period. He continued to manage his record label, Fuck City, and drummed for bands Burning Empires and Enabler.[11] He also formed heavy metal outfit The Damned Things with Fall Out Boy guitarist Joe Trohman, Scott Ian and Rob Caggiano of Anthrax, and Keith Buckley of Every Time I Die.[11] "I went through the darkest depression I've ever felt," said Hurley. "I looked at my calendar and it was just empty."[8]
Recording and production

The album's earliest origins lie in unsuccessful writing sessions between Patrick Stump and Pete Wentz. The two met up in early 2012 to write for the first time in nearly four years. Wentz reached out to Stump after he penned his letter, as he too felt he was in a dark place and needed a creative outlet.[9] The result, "three or four" new songs, were shelved with near immediacy, with the two concluding that "it just wasn't right and didn't feel right."[16] Several months later, the two reconvened and wrote tracks that they felt truly represented the band in a modern form. After writing "Where Did the Party Go," both musicians became excited as momentum continued to grow.[9] The band decided that if a comeback was in order, it must represent the band in its current form: "We didn't want to come back just to bask in the glory days and, like, and collect a few checks and pretend ... and do our best 2003 impersonation," said Stump.[17] Afterwards, the quartet held an all-day secret meeting at their manager's home in New York City where they discussed ideas and the mechanics of getting together to record.[9][16]

Save Rock and Roll was recorded primarily at Rubyred Recordings in Venice, California from October 2012 to March 2013.[18] The entire album was recorded in secrecy from the music industry, critics, and their own fans. "There was a couple times there was paparazzi that got us outside and didn't put two and two together," recalled Stump.[17] The decision to keep recording a secret was partially so that they could shelve it if the sessions didn't work out.[8] Keeping the secret was difficult, especially for a group so visible on social media; Hurley stayed away from Twitter and all members got as far away from one another in public as possible.[9] Rumors began to swirl in late 2012 after a friend of the band tweeted that the band was in the process of recording new material; though each member of the band was quick to deny any chance of a reunion.[11] The band remained tight-lipped until the very end; when the Chicago Tribune asked Wentz a week prior to the announcement whether a Fall Out Boy reunion was happening, he replied, "It's not."[19]
Title and artwork

The title was created as a tongue in cheek remark after Wentz envisioned album reviews that would sarcastically state the band "came back to save rock and roll." It was also partially inspired by the return of rock-based acts on contemporary hit radio, such as the success of recent Fun and Gotye singles.[15]

The cover of Save Rock and Roll features a photograph of two young boys — one wearing traditional monk robes, the other in jeans and a T-shirt, smoking a cigarette — taken by Roger Stonehouse in Burma.[20] The image was found early on in the production process as the band scoured the Internet for inspirational images. They felt the photo solidified the message of the record, "one definitely indebted to the past, but defiantly points towards the future."[20] Summarized, the image represents old and new clashing, and tradition and change coming together.[21]
Promotion

While specifically denying that their announcement was a reunion because "[we] never broke up", the band announced a reunion tour and details of Save Rock and Roll on February 4, 2013. The record's lead single, "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)", shot up to number two on iTunes within hours of its release.[8] The quartet's announcement included a photo of them, taken earlier that morning, huddled around a bonfire, tossing copies of their back catalog into the flames at the original location of 1979's Disco Demolition Night.[22] The band performed an "intimate" show the same night at Chicago's Subterranean, followed by two more club slots in New York City and Los Angeles the same week. Stump playfully chided the hometown crowd at the Subterranean: "I told you we were gonna come back! Why didn't you believe me?"[19]

"The Phoenix" was released as a promotional single on March 24, 2013 in North America and March 28, 2013 worldwide.[23] The song was available to download on the pre-order page of Save Rock and Roll's iTunes listing in the weeks leading up to the album's release. An accompanying music video was released via the band's Vevo channel on the same day.[24] The video will be part of an overall narrative which will see every song on the album accompanied by a music video,[25] in the same manner as Daft Punk's Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, a film compiled of music videos for the entirety of the Discovery album.

"Young Volcanoes" was made available to stream on SoundCloud and YouTube as the second promotional single off Save Rock and Roll by the band on April 5, 2013. The entire album was made available to stream on SoundCloud by the band on April 8, 2013.[26]

Music video for "Young Volcanoes" was released April 18th, available on YouTube.
Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 3.5/5 stars[27]
Alternative Press 4/5 stars[28]
The A.V. Club B+[29]
Entertainment Weekly B[30]
The Guardian 4/5 stars[31]
musicOMH 2.5/5 stars[32]
The Oakland Press 2.5/4 stars[33]
Rolling Stone 3.5/5 stars[34]
USA Today 3/4 stars[35]

Save Rock and Roll has received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, a website which assigns a rating out of 100 from reviews by mainstream critics, it currently holds a rating of 76, based on 13 reviews.[36] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic commended the record's compositions as "ambitious, admirable, and sometimes thrilling, particularly because the group never fears to tread into treacherous waters, happy to blur the distinctions between pop and rock, mainstream and underground."[27] Kyle Ryan of The A.V. Club called the record "the band’s most personal album yet, a tribute to being passionate and young when time makes the former difficult and the latter impossible. It’s an arena album that longs for small punk clubs."[29] Annie Zaleski of Alternative Press gave the album a positive review, calling it "a blast of an album", stating "It's also gutsy: No matter what direction Fall Out Boy went, people would be disappointed. So to release a collection of music that's a noticeable progression from their past albums—but one done entirely on their own terms—is brave. Save Rock and Roll might not actually, well, save rock and roll—but it certainly has brought Fall Out Boy back from the brink."[28]

Dave Simpson of The Guardian was positive in his description of the music on the album: "Each track fuses punk-pop, boyband production values and Heart-style power-balladry to make a big enough noise to accompany fireworks in stadiums."[31] Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly described Save Rock and Roll as a stairway to a new era for the band, writing, "There's not much psychological processing on Save Rock and Roll, but it does advance FOB's vision of an über-inclusive guitar-pop utopia."[30] Rolling Stone's Simon Vozick-Levinson characterized the record as full of "over-the-top ambitions", summarizing by saying, "Does rock's future depend on this overheated nonsense? Of course not. But life is more fun with Fall Out Boy than without them."[34] At USA Today, Brian Mansfield concluded with "Fall Out Boy may not be rock and roll's saviors, but they make sure it's got a little life left."[35] Andy Baber of musicOMH called this the "softest album yet, it is also their least memorable."[32] At The Oakland Press, Gary Graff found that "11-song set has more in common with Rihanna than the Ramones, which will undoubtedly polarize those faithful".[33]
Track listing

All songs written and composed by Andy Hurley, Patrick Stump, Joe Trohman and Pete Wentz, except where noted.[18]
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "The Phoenix" 4:04
2. "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)" Hurley, Stump, Trohman, Wentz, Butch Walker, John Hill 3:08
3. "Alone Together" 3:23
4. "Where Did the Party Go" 4:03
5. "Just One Yesterday" (featuring Foxes) 4:04
6. "The Mighty Fall" (featuring Big Sean) Hurley, Stump, Trohman, Walker, Wentz, Walker, Hill, Sean Anderson 3:32
7. "Miss Missing You" 3:30
8. "Death Valley" 3:46
9. "Young Volcanoes" 3:24
10. "Rat a Tat" (featuring Courtney Love) Hurley, Stump, Trohman, Wentz, Courtney Love 4:02
11. "Save Rock and Roll" (featuring Elton John) 4:41
Total length:
41:37
[show]Japanese bonus track[37]
[show]Japanese bonus DVD[37]
Personnel

[18]

Fall Out Boy

Patrick Stump – lead vocals, guitar, keyboard, additional programming and production
Joe Trohman – guitar, keyboards, additional programming and production, backing vocals
Pete Wentz – bass guitar, additional production, backing vocals
Andy Hurley – drums, percussion, additional production, backing vocals

Additional musicians

Big Sean – guest vocals on "The Mighty Fall"
Courtney Love – guest vocals on "Rat a Tat"[38]
Elton John – guest vocals, piano on "Save Rock and Roll"[38]
Foxes – guest vocals on "Just One Yesterday"

Artwork

Roger Stonehouse - cover photography
Pamela Littky - band photography
Marjan Malakpour - styling
Todd Russell - art direction and design
Kristen Yiengst - art and photography production
Carol Corless - package production



Production

Butch Walker – producer, additional backing vocals, percussion, programming and keyboards
Jake Sinclair - engineer, additional backing vocals, percussion, programming and keyboards
Todd Stopera - assistant engineer
Laura Sisk - engineer on "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)" and "The Mighty Fall"
Grant Wndrbrd Michaels - engineer "Rat a Tat" (Courtney Love vocals)
Peter Asher - production on "Save Rock and Roll" (Elton John vocals)
Matt Still - engineer on "Save Rock and Roll" (Elton John vocals)
Manny Sanchez - additional engineering and production on "Miss Missing You" and "Rat a Tat"
Dave Sardy - mixing
Mark "Spike" Stint - mixing on "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)"
Matty Green - assistant mixing on "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)"
Greg Calbi - mastering
Joe Laporta - mastering on "The Mighty Fall", "Rat a Tat" and "Save Rock and Roll"
Rob Mathes - orchestral arrangement and conducting on "The Phoenix" and "Save Rock and Roll"
The London Symphony Orchestra - orchestration on "The Phoenix" and "Save Rock and Roll"

Chart performance
Weekly charts
Chart (2013) Peak
position
Irish Albums (IRMA)[39] 4
Release history
Region Date Label Format
Europe/Australia April 12, 2013 Island Records Digital download, CD, vinyl
United Kingdom April 15, 2013
United States[23] April 16, 2013

[Tina]

Macy's, originally R. H. Macy & Co., is a mid-range to upscale[2] chain of department stores owned by American multinational corporation Macy's, Inc. It is one of two divisions owned by the company, with the other being the upscale Bloomingdale's. As of January 2013, it operates 798 locations in the United States, with a prominent Herald Square flagship location in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.[3] It also has eSpot ZoomShops kiosks in over 300 store locations selling consumer electronics.

Macy's is known for its niche in popular culture and the diversity of its merchandise. It competes with Belk, Bon-Ton, and Dillard's; more upscale facilities compete with Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, and Saks Fifth Avenue. It has produced the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City since 1924, and sponsored the City's annual Fourth of July fireworks display since 1976. Macy's flagship was, and is still being advertised as, the largest in the world, and draws shoppers from well beyond the New York City Metropolitan Area. The venue resides in close proximity to other Manhattan landmarks, including the Empire State Building, Koreatown, Pennsylvania Station, and Madison Square Garden.
Contents

1 History
1.1 Early history
1.2 Expansion and bankruptcy
1.3 Merger with Federated Department Stores
1.4 Acquisition of May Department Stores
1.5 Operations as Macy's, Inc.
2 Store divisions
2.1 In Puerto Rico
3 Private brands
4 Environmental record
5 In popular culture
6 Controversy
7 References
8 External links

History
Early history
See also: Macy's Herald Square
The Macy's in Herald Square in 1907.
Macy's in Herald Square today.

Macy's was founded by Rowland Hussey Macy, who between 1843 and 1855 opened four retail dry goods stores, including the original Macy's store in downtown Haverhill, Massachusetts, established in 1851 to serve the mill industry employees of the area. They all failed, but he learned from his mistakes. Macy moved to New York City in 1858 and established a new store named "R. H. Macy & Co." on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, which was far north of where other dry goods stores were at the time.[4] On the company's first day of business on October 28, 1858 sales totaled US$11.08, equal to $293.47 today. From the very beginning, Macy's logo has included a star in one form or another, which comes from a tattoo that Macy got as a teenager when he worked on a Nantucket whaling ship, the Emily Morgan.[5][6]

As the business grew, Macy's expanded into neighboring buildings, opening more and more departments, and used publicity devices such as a store Santa Claus, themed exhibits, and illuminated window displays to draw in customers.[7] It also offered a money back guarantee, although it only accepted cash into the 1950s. The store also produced its own made-to-measure clothing for both men and women, assembled in an on-site factory.[4] The store later moved to 18th Street and Broadway, on the "Ladies' Mile", the elite shopping district of the time, where it remained for nearly forty years.

In 1875, Macy took on two partners, Robert M. Valentine (1850–1879), a nephew; and Abiel T. La Forge (1842–1878) of Wisconsin, who was the husband of a cousin.[8][9] Macy died just two years later in 1877 from Bright's disease[10] The following year La Forge died, and Valentine died in 1879.[8][9] Ownership of the company was passed down through the Macy family until 1895, when the company, now called "R. H. Macy & Co.", was acquired by Isidor Straus and his brother Nathan Straus, who had previously held a license to sell china and other goods in the Macy's store.

In 1902, the flagship store moved uptown to Herald Square at 34th Street and Broadway, so far north of the other main dry goods emporia that it had to offer a steam wagonette to transport customers from 14th Street to 34th Street.[4] Although the Herald Square store initially consisted of just one building, it expanded through new construction, eventually occupying almost the entire block bounded by Seventh Avenue on the west, Broadway on the east, 34th Street on the south and 35th Street on the north, with the exception of a small pre-existing building on the corner of 35th Street and Seventh Avenue and another on the corner of 34th Street and Broadway. This latter 5-story building was purchased by Robert H. Smith in 1900 for $375,000 – an incredible sum at the time – with the idea of getting in the way of Macy's becoming the largest store in the world: it is largely supposed that Smith, who was a neighbor of the Macy's store on 14th Street, was acting on behalf of Siegel-Cooper, which had built what they thought was the world's largest store on Sixth Avenue in 1896. Macy's ignored the tactic, and simply built around the building, which now carries Macy's "shopping bag" sign by lease arrangement.[11]

The original Broadway store, designed by architects De Lemos & Cordes was built in 1901–02 by the Fuller Company. It has a Palladian facade, but has been updated in many details. Other additions to the west were added in 1924 and 1928, and the Seventh Avenue building in 1931, all designed by architect Robert D. Kohn, the newer buildings becoming increasingly Art Deco in style.[11][12] In 2012, Macy’s began the first full renovation of the iconic Herald Square flagship store at a reported cost of $400 million.[13][14] STUDIO V Architecture, a New York based firm, was the overall Master Plan architect of the project. STUDIO V’s fresh design of the department store raised controversy over the nature of contemporary design and authentic restoration.[15]

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark in 1978.[16][17] The store has several wooden escalators still in operation.
Expansion and bankruptcy
The Macy's flagship store in San Francisco.

The problem of pre-existing buildings also presented itself when Macy's built a store on Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst, in the New York City borough of Queens. This resulted in an architecturally unique round department store on 90 percent of the lot, with a small privately owned house on the corner. Macy's no longer fully occupies this building, which now contains the Queens Place Mall, with Macy's Furniture Gallery as a tenant; instead it moved its full outlet to the nearby Queens Center.

Acquisitions were also made outside of the New York City region. Department stores in Toledo (Lasalle & Koch 1924), Atlanta (Davison-Paxon-Stokes 1929), Newark (L. Bamberger & Co.) 1929, San Francisco (O'Connor Moffat & Company 1945), and Kansas City (John Taylor Dry Goods Co. 1947) were purchased during this time. O'Connor Moffat was renamed Macy's San Francisco in 1947, later becoming Macy's California, and John Taylor was renamed Macy's Missouri-Kansas in 1949. Stores in Toledo retained the Lasalle's name until 1981, joining the Missouri-Kansas stores to become Macy's Midwest. The Toledo stores were sold to Elder-Beermen in 1986.[5][dead link]

Macy's New York began opening stores outside of its historic New York City–Long Island trade area in 1983 with a location at Aventura Mall in Aventura, Florida (a suburb of Miami), followed by several locations in Plantation, Florida (now relocated from the Fashion Mall to the Broward Mall since the Burdine's acquisition), Houston, New Orleans, and Dallas. Davison's in Atlanta was renamed Macy's Atlanta in early 1985 with the consolidation of an early incarnation of Macy's Midwest (former Taylor and LaSalle's stores in Kansas City and Toledo, respectively), but late in 1985, Macy's turned around and sold the former Midwest locations. Bamberger's, which had aggressively expanded throughout New Jersey, into the Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan area in the 1960s and 1970s as well as into Nanuet, New York (southern Rockland County), and into the Baltimore Metropolitan area in the early 1980s, was renamed Macy's New Jersey in 1986.

In 1986 Edward Finkelstein, Chairman & CEO of R. H. Macy & Co., Inc., led a leveraged buy-out of the company and subsequently engaged in a takeover battle for Federated Department Stores, Inc., in 1988 that he lost to Canada's Campeau Corporation. As part of its settlement with Campeau, Macy's purchased Federated's California-based, fashion-oriented Bullock's and its high-end Bullocks Wilshire and I. Magnin divisions. It followed with a reorganization of its divisions into Macy's Northeast (former Macy's New York and Macy's New Jersey), Macy's South/Bullock's (Macy's Atlanta stores plus Macy's New York's operations in Texas, Florida and Louisiana), and Macy's California, the latter including a semi-autonomous I. Magnin/Bullocks Wilshire organization. The Bullocks Wilshire stores were renamed I. Magnin in 1989.

Subsequently, R. H. Macy & Co., Inc., filed for bankruptcy on January 27, 1992, after which point its banks brought in a new management team, which shut several underperforming stores, jettisoned two-thirds of the luxury I. Magnin chain, and reduced Macy's to two divisions; Macy's East and Macy's West.

Macy's East, New York City was a division of Macy's, Inc.. It is the operating successor to the original R.H. Macy & Co., Inc. and operates the Macy's department stores in the northeast U.S. and Puerto Rico. Over the years it has been known as Macy's New York and Macy's Northeast. On February 1, 2006, Macy's East assumed operating control over the Filene's, Strawbridge's, many of the Kaufmann's stores in upstate New York and the Hecht's stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, D.C. and northern Virginia. These locations assumed the Macy's moniker officially on September 9, 2006. In 2008 Macy's East merged with Macy's North.

In May 1993, Macy's announced the planned fall 1994 launch of TV Macy's, the retailer's own home shopping channel, in conjunction with Don Hewitt, Thomas Leahy and Cablevision.[18]
Merger with Federated Department Stores

At the start of 1994, Federated began pursuing a merger with Macy's. After a long and difficult courtship, R. H. Macy & Co. finally merged with Federated Department Stores on December 19, 1994. Following the merger the reorganized Macy’s moved its headquarters to Cincinnati, Ohio under the name Federated Department Stores. Federated promptly shut down the remainder of the I. Magnin chain, converting several to Macy's or Bullock's and selling four in Carmel, Beverly Hills, San Diego and Phoenix to Saks Fifth Avenue. Federated also merged its Abraham & Straus/Jordan Marsh division with the new "Macy's East" organization based in New York, renaming the Abraham & Straus stores in metropolitan New York with the Macy's nameplate in 1995, and then erasing the Jordan Marsh moniker in New England in early 1996.

Federated followed that by leading a bid in mid-1995 to acquire the bankrupt Woodward & Lothrop/John Wanamaker organization in the mid-Atlantic region, a bid it lost to rival group led by long-time rival and future acquisition target The May Department Stores Company. Instead Federated soon agreed to purchase Broadway Stores, Inc. (owner of The Broadway, Emporium and Weinstock's stores in California, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico), from its majority shareholder, Sam Zell, thereby gaining a leading position in Southern California and a dominant one in the Northern California marketplace. In early 1996 Federated dissolved Broadway Stores, incorporating the majority of its locations into Macy's West, rebadging them as Macy's and using the opportunity to retire the Bullock's name. Several of the redundant Broadway locations were used to establish Bloomingdale's on the West Coast, while many other were sold to Sears.

In 2001 Federated dissolved its Stern's division in the New York metropolitan area, with the bulk of the stores being absorbed into Macy's East. Additionally, in July 2001 it acquired the Liberty House chain with department and specialty stores in Hawaii and Guam, consolidating it with Macy's West.

In early 2003 Federated closed the majority of its historic Davison's franchise in Atlanta (operating as Macy's since 1985), rebranding its other Atlanta division Rich's with the unwieldy name, Rich's–Macy's. The downtown location—formerly the Davison's flagship store at 180 Peachtree Street – was shuttered at this time as well. The original Macy's Lenox Square and Perimeter Mall locations were extensively remodeled and opened in October 2003 as the first Bloomingdale's stores in Atlanta. The company rapidly followed suit in May 2003 with similar rebranding announcements for its other nameplates, Burdines in Florida, Goldsmith's in Memphis, Lazarus in the lower Midwest, and The Bon Marché in the Pacific Northwest.

On March 6, 2005, the Bon-Macy's, Burdines-Macy's, Goldsmith's-Macy's, Lazarus-Macy's, and Rich's-Macy's stores were renamed as simply "Macy's", the first two as the new Macy's West and Macy's Florida divisions respectively and the later three as part of the Macy's Central division. As of July 2005, Macy's had 424 stores throughout the U.S.[19]
Acquisition of May Department Stores

On February 28, 2005, Federated agreed to terms of a deal to acquire The May Department Stores Company for $11 billion in stock, creating the nation's second largest department store chain with $30 billion in annual sales and more than 1,000 stores.

On July 28, 2005, Federated announced, based on the success of converting its own regional brands to the Macy's name, its plans to similarly convert 330 regional department stores owned by the May Company (as May Department Stores was generally referred to) to the Macy's nameplate. This included May's Marshall Field's (purchased by the May Company from Target just eight months prior to Federated's purchase of the May Company), Kaufmann's, Famous-Barr, Filene's, Foley's, Hecht's, The Jones Store, L. S. Ayres, Meier & Frank, Robinsons-May, and Strawbridge & Clothier chains, pending approval of the merger by federal regulators.

The conversion of the May brands was met with negative reaction in many of the regions surrounding those department stores because they were widely considered to be beloved local institutions. The strongest reactions occurred with the loss of Filene's, Marshall Field's, and Kaufmann's, which were all well known for their flagship downtown stores and local traditions. For example, Kaufmann's operated the Kaufmann's Celebrate the Season Parade which was traditionally broadcast live throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on television. Many customers publicly vowed to never again shop at the May stores that were converted and to permanently switch their loyalty to other major department store chains beyond Federated's control. Prominent film critic Roger Ebert voiced the grief of many Chicagoans at the loss of Field's when he wrote in his column on September 21, 2005:

I thought the day would never come. I am looking at my Field's charge card, which I have cut up into tiny pieces. They look like little tears the color of money.[20]

Where existing Federated stores were in close proximity to former May Company stores, some redundant stores were closed or sold off to other retailers. In a number of malls where a May Company store and a Macy's store had traditionally coexisted in the same mall, Federated occasionally instituted a pattern which Macy's West had successfully pioneered in the 1990s with earlier acquisitions (specifically, Broadway Stores and Liberty House's former U.S. mainland stores). This involved converting one store to a Macy's Men and Home store, which primarily carried men's apparel, luggage, and housewares, and the other to a Macy's Women store which primarily carried women's apparel, children's apparel, and cosmetics. Having two stores configured like this allows Macy's to offer broader inventories of all products without having to incur the expense of building a single flagship-size store. At some malls, like Fashion Show Mall, the dual-store system proved to be unsuccessful, so Macy's closed one of the stores and converted the other back to a general Macy's store.

On January 12, 2006, Federated announced its plans to divest May Company's Lord & Taylor division by the end of 2006 after concluding that chain did not fit with their strategic focus for building the Macy's and Bloomingdale's national brands. On June 22, 2006, Macy's announced that NDRC Equity Partners, LLC would purchase Lord & Taylor for US$1.2 billion,[21] and completed the sale in October 2006.
Operations as Macy's, Inc.
Exterior of a typical ex-Marshall Field's suburban Macy's store at Westfield Hawthorn in Vernon Hills, Illinois
Macy’s Lifestyle Store in Fairview, Texas opened on August 5, 2009.

On February 21, 2006, Macy's appointed a new chief marketing officer, Anne MacDonald, to oversee the transformation of Macy's into a "national department store". By September 9, 2006, and after renaming the former May Company locations, Macy's operated approximately 850 stores in the United States. To promote its largest and most recent expansion, Macy's used a version of the Martha and the Vandellas hit song, "Dancing in the Street", in its advertising. Also, the company took props from its annual Thanksgiving Day parade to various re-labeled stores throughout the nation, in what the company marketed as its "Parade on Parade."

In October 2006, Federated Department Stores entered into an agreement with Zoom Systems to test more than 100 stores within retail giant Macy’s. Terry Lundgren, CEO of Federated, raved about the ability to provide consumers with a convenient means to purchase iPods and other consumer electronics. “This is exciting because it brings most-wanted merchandise into stores in a unique new way.... How cool is that?”. Today Macy’s has turned over their entire Electronics section, in every store, to over 400 eSpot ZoomShops.

Macy's significantly increased its use of television advertising and product placement in 2006 and 2007, using branding spots that featured the new Macy's star logo. Macy's television commercials are produced primarily by New York Production Services, a New York based commercial and independent film production company. During the February 11, 2007, episode of the popular ABC television series Desperate Housewives, a Macy's (under the fictional name McMay's) location in the fictional city of Fairview was featured, a rare instance of product placement promoting a department store chain in a scripted series. Nearly two years earlier, one of the first national commercials for Macy's had aired during Desperate Housewives, shortly after the conversion of Rich's, Lazarus, Goldsmith's, The Bon Marché and Burdines.

On February 27, 2007, Federated Department Stores announced plans to change its corporate name to Macy's Group, Inc.[22] By March 28, the company further announced plans to convert its stock ticker symbol from "FD" to "M", and revised its name change to Macy's, Inc.[23] The change in corporate names was approved by shareholders on May 18, 2007, and took effect on June 1, 2007. The company continues to operate stores under the Macy's and Bloomingdale's nameplates.

In 2008, Macy's celebrated its 150th birthday. The store launched a commercial including old Macy's commercials, and actors and actresses mentioning Macy's on shows. It also featured clips of past Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades. The commercial aired around when the annual Primetime Emmy Awards aired live on ABC on September 2008. The commercial has aired on different channels also throughout the whole September, October, and November months.[citation needed]

In March 2009, Macy's opened a one-level, 120,000-square-foot (11,000 m2) concept store in Gilbert, Arizona, a Phoenix suburb, that was designed to better fit open air lifestyle malls.[24] Additional stores with the new format have opened in Fairview, Texas; Lee’s Summit, Missouri; and Nampa, Idaho. The stores are designed to be compact and meet current demands for more convenient shopping similar to Kohl’s and newer J. C. Penney stores.[25] Lifestyle stores feature Starbucks Coffee Cafés with wireless web and fitting rooms designed to feel like lounges with sofas and Plasma TVs. Ceilings in the center areas are higher to be reminiscent of older department stores. The format was the culmination of 18 months of research to create stores for the "My Macy's" initiative that allows stores to be merchandised differently in markets across the country to meet local demands.[26][27]
Store divisions
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2012)

Prior to the merger of Federated and May, Macy's had been organized into five divisions. Incorporation of properties from six former regional May Company divisions began in February 2006, when existing Macy's stores and properties yet to be converted were then organized into seven divisions with store locations in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam.[19] As of March 2013, the only states without a Macy's store were Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi and Nebraska.

On February 6, 2008, Macy's Inc. announced consolidation of its Macy's store locations into four primary geographic divisions. From that date, three of the divisions each had approximately 250 locations each as a result of the reorganization, while its Florida-based division remained unaffected, as did its Bloomingdale's division.[28]
Macy's in West Palm Beach, Florida

Macy's East, was headquartered in New York City, with locations ranging from the eastern to north-central United States. Prior to the consolidation of May Company properties into the division in February 2006, the division contained 216 stores/29,100 employees in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, portions of Virginia, and the city of Washington, D.C.. In addition to Macy's, this division formerly operated Filene's stores in New England, the majority of Kaufmann's stores in upstate New York, and Strawbridge's and Hecht's stores in the mid-Atlantic region. After announced divestitures/store closures were completed by late 2006, this division contained 185 locations until consolidation with Macy's North.

Macy's North, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota from February 2006 until February 2008, was consolidated into Macy's East. Prior to its consolidation, the division included 65 stores in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Formerly, most locations had operated as Marshall Field's, which in turn included many former Dayton's and Hudson's locations. Additionally, the former L. S. Ayres location in Merrillville, Indiana, and Macy's at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, were included in the Macy's North division. The division's successor, in effect, was a corporate region within Macy's East, with regional offices moved from Minneapolis to Chicago, Illinois.

Macy's Central, which was headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, was the second incarnation of the division name within what is currently Macy's Inc., with stores throughout the midwestern and southeastern United States. The current Macy's Central consolidates the following locations:

Macy's South, which was also headquartered in Atlanta, operated from February 2006 until February 2008. The Federated/Macy's Inc. division itself was a consolidation of May Company properties with the first incarnation of Macy's Central – a renaming of Federated's RLG division, which had included Rich's, Lazarus, and Goldsmith's. As of March 2007, the division contained 136 stores/22,500 employees in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas & Virginia. Macy's South as operated by Federated/Macy's Inc. was created by consolidating former Rich's and Goldsmith's locations with several stores from the Foley's chain. (Lazarus stores were transferred to Macy's Midwest.)

The Macy's flagship store in downtown Cincinnati

From 1988 to 1992, R. H. Macy & Co., Inc.'s Macy's South division was also headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with stores in Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Texas operating as Macy's, while stores in California, Arizona and Nevada operated as Bullock's. The former South division was formed following Macy's acquisition of Bullock's, incorporating Macy's Atlanta (the former Davison's stores renamed in 1985) with the Florida, Louisiana and Texas locations of Macy's New York and Bullock's. It was dissolved in 1992 and its stores consolidated into Macy's East and Macy's West.
Macy's Midwest, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri from February 2006 until February 2008, was consolidated with Macy's South to form the more recent Macy's Central division. Prior to its consolidation, this Macy's Midwest division included 95 stores throughout the midwestern United States. There was a prior division of R. H. Macy & Co., Inc. named Macy's Midwest that was headquartered in Kansas City formed from a consolidation of two Macy's divisions, Lasalle's and Macy's Missouri-Kansas, in 1981. It was merged with Davison's to form Macy's Atlanta on February 1, 1985. Its former Lasalle's stores were sold to Elder-Beerman later that year and its former Kansas and Missouri stores were sold to Dillard's in 1986. Macy's Midwest incorporated several historic department store franchises owned by the former Federated Department Stores, Inc. and by May Company. The franchises represented by Macy's Midwest include The F&R Lazarus & Co., Shillito's, Rike Kumler Co., William H. Block Co., Horne's, Famous-Barr, L. S. Ayres, The Jones Store, Kaufmann's, May Company Ohio, O'Neil's and Strouss. St. Louis will remain as a regional headquarters location for a corporate region within Macy's Central. Another corporate regional headquarters within the division will be based in Cincinnati. In 2009 Macy's announced that they would downsize the former Famous-Barr flagship store in Downtown St. Louis from seven stories to three.

Macy's West, was headquartered in San Francisco, California with locations throughout the western United States, building on the foundation of store locations that first operated as O'Connor, Moffat & Company in San Francisco's Union Square and other sites. Prior to the February 2006 inclusion of May Company properties, the division included 232 stores/31,100 employees throughout Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Guam. In addition to Macy's stores, the division operated former Foley's locations in Colorado, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, as well as Robinson's-May stores. After announced divestitures/store closures were completed by late 2006, this division operated approximately 190 stores, until consolidation with Macy's Northwest.

Macy's in Seattle

Macy's Northwest, headquartered in Seattle, Washington from February 2006 until February 2008, was consolidated into Macy's West. Many of the locations were formerly locations of The Bon Marché, and the division included 71 stores/7,200 employees prior to the February 2006 inclusion of May Company properties. Store locations in the division were located throughout Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. In addition to former Bon Marché stores, the division added stores formerly operating as Meier & Frank, which in turn had included former ZCMI locations. Seattle will remain as a regional headquarters location for a corporate region within Macy's West.

Macy's Florida, which was headquartered in Miami, Florida included 61 stores/9,800 employees in Florida and Puerto Rico. The majority of the stores were formerly Burdines; the San Juan, Puerto Rico, store was transferred from Macy's East in August 2007.

In conjunction with these geographic divisions, the New York-based Macy's Home Store division was responsible for buying, planning and marketing home-related merchandise sold in all Macy's stores.

All store divisions nationwide were also served by two administrative divisions, prior to February 2009:

Macy's Corporate Marketing headquartered in New York, responsible for overall activity on initiatives implemented to support the company's focus on Marketing.
Macy's Merchandising Group, headquartered in New York, responsible for conceptualizing, designing, sourcing, and marketing private label and private branded goods sold at Macy's and managing core vendor relationships in the domestic branded market.

In Puerto Rico

Macy's in Puerto Rico opened its doors in 2000, the first Macy's outside of the continental United States. It is located in the Plaza Las Américas mall in San Juan.
Private brands

Macy's has a large portfolio of private brands that it produces for exclusive sale within its stores. These brands, which are advertised in store as "Only at Macy's", account for 20% of the company's sales. The merchandise in each brand is designed to appeal to different demographics and customers. Bar III, the most recent addition to the company's portfolio, was launched in Spring 2011.[29] Some of Macy's private brands are sold internationally in non-competing department stores.[30]

Macy's private brands include:

Alfani (women's): wear-to-work clothes, sportswear, intimates (underwear), jewelry, shoes, and accessories
Alfani (men's): sportswear, tailored clothing, shoes, and accessories
American Rag: denim and separates (tops and bottoms)
Bar III: contemporary women's and men's clothing and bedding
Belgique: cookware
Charter Club: women's ready-to-wear, home goods
Club Room: business casual menswear, sportswear, tailored clothing, furnishings, shoes, and accessories
Epic Threads: urban and edgy clothing designed for tweens
First Impressions: clothing for newborns and infants
Giani Bernini: handbags, small leather goods, shoes, and jewelry
Hotel Collection: luxury linens and mattresses
Ideology: activewear (sports wear)
I.N.C. International Concepts: fashion-forward modern clothing for women and men
Jenni by Jennifer Moore: women's intimates, pajamas, loungewear, and lingerie; children's pajamas and loungewear.
JM Collection: work-to-weekend women's clothing
Style & Co.: women's sportswear, shoes, jewelry, handbags, accessories, and bedding
Tasso Elba: European-inspired menswear characterized by luxury fabrics including sportswear, tailored clothing, furnishings, shoes, and accessories

Macy's distinguishes its private brands from its labels. This difference is "subtle but important." Macy's private brands have fully developed brand profiles targeted to specific consumers and are supported with national advertising and branded in-store environments. A label is just that: a name attached to a category of merchandise that fills a niche in Macy's assortments. [31]

Macy's private labels include:

Greendog:
John Asford:
Morgan Taylor:
The Cellar:
Via Europa:
Holiday Lane:
Karen Scott:
Studio Silver:
Tools of the Trade:

Environmental record

Like most industrial processes, the manufacture of textiles has a number of negative environmental effects, including water, energy, and raw material consumption. In addition, regular marketing of new clothing items fosters a throw-away mindset in customers, which exacerbates these problems.[32] Macy's has initiated a campaign to lessen their company's impact by promoting environmental causes. For instance, Macy's stores now sell reusable cotton tote bags for customers to use in place of plastic shopping bags, and the company is replacing synthetic packing peanuts with loosefill material created from corn and potato starch.[33]
In popular culture

Miracle on 34th Street, a 1947 Christmas film written and directed by George Seaton, takes place in New York City following Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, as people are left wondering whether a department store Santa might be the real thing.
The final chapter of the Latin American literary classic "Empire of Dreams" by Giannina Braschi takes place at Macy's flagship store on 34th Street in New York City, where the heroine Mariquita Samper, works at a makeup counter and dreams of becoming a star.

Controversy
A Macy's in San Diego

In July 2003, then-New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer launched an investigation of the private policing system Macy's has used to deal with suspected shoplifters. The investigation was prompted by a civil rights lawsuit and an article in The New York Times, which reported on many of Macy's tactics, including private jails and interrogations.[34] Spitzer's investigation found many of Macy's actions, from ethnic profiling to handcuffing detainees, to be unlawful. Macy's settled the civil rights complaint for US$600,000, claiming to have put the illegal tactics to an end while maintaining the security system itself.[35]

The Macy's East downtown Boston store (formerly the Jordan Marsh flagship) touched off a local public relations firestorm with the June 6, 2006, removal of two mannequins and the Web address of the AIDS Action Committee from a window display promoting Boston's annual gay pride celebration. The removal was apparently in response to pressure from MassResistance, a local group opposed to same-sex marriage, whose members complained the mannequins were "homosexual". The removal of the mannequins was widely condemned by residents and officials, including Boston mayor Thomas Menino, who was quoted as saying:

I'm very surprised that Macy's would bend to that type of pressure. Macy's was celebrating a part of our community, gay pride, and they should be proud of the gay community, and I'm proud of the gay community and gay pride.[36]

Macy's response to the debacle was to publish an apology by the Macy's East chairman, Ron Klein, in In Newsweekly, a Boston-area weekly with a large gay readership. Klein's description of the incident as "an internal breakdown in communication," further stated it was regrettable some would doubt Macy's commitment to diversity as a result.[37] The Web address was later restored—the mannequins, however never made a reappearance.

Macy's Boston was also a target of Animal Rights protesters, who held signs and handed out pamphlets throughout the 1990s regarding Macy's participation in the fur trade industry. Macy's West had at the time stopped carrying their line of fur coats and apparel, and although the demonstrations have since quieted, Macy's East continues to sell fur coats and apparel, as does a portion of Macy's South stores.

In December 2011, Natalie Johnson, a former Macy's employee, was fired from her San Antonio, Texas, store for refusing to allow a transgendered woman to change in the women's dressing room. Johnson claimed that due to her religion, she is not permitted to recognize transgendered people. Having violated Macy's LGBT policy, she was fired.[38] The decision has come under fire in both the LGBT community and the Christian community.[citation needed]

As of November 2012, over 350,000 people signed an online petition urging Macy’s to fire Donald Trump as a celebrity spokesman.[39]