The Illustrated Guide to World Religions

The belief in a being conceived as the perfect ruler and creator of the universe has defined culture, politics and the ethos of humanity since prehistoric times. The effect of religious beliefs are found in the headlines of today's news. Yet as powerful as religion is most of humankind live in ignorance about other's religious beliefs. This guide can help readers to be better informed about the seven major religions of the world. I used the book prior to my visit to Buddhistic Thailand. I was in need of a fast refresher course on Buddhism as my college course, "Comparative Religions", taken in the early seventies, had seriously faded. The information in this book is rudimentary, and though the information stimulated dormant brain cells there was no new insights added. The photos and maps (showing the world influence of each religion) are superb. The writing is clear and easy to understand (most teenagers would easily grasp the concepts). Each chapter lays out information about the basic dogma of each religion, and deals with such issues as the role of women, afterlife (exception being Judaism), holidays and important sacred text. Yet, this guide would have had been more informative if it included charts and gave the readers contemporary illustrations of each faith (ie sidebars that give biographic sketches of today's `leaders and shakers' in each faith). In short it could have been better. For those that have a comprehension of the major world religions Michael Coogan's book will not add much to your knowledge. For those little to no comprehesion and are in search of a quick, terse introduction into the seven major world religions (Jr. High/High School especially) this guide is recommended. 3.5 stars A side note I found Karen Armstrong's short book "Buddha" to be an excellent read.