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Histoire des croyances et des idées religieuses #3.2
Geschichte der religiösen Ideen
"Eine gewaltige geistige Unternehmung, fesselnd und allgemeinverständlich aufbereitet" (Süddeutsche Zeitung). "Wer Eliades Werk liest, wird beschenkt und gewinnt nicht nur ein Verständnis der Religionen, sondern auch der Erkenntnis der Welt, in der wir leben" (Die Welt).
1717 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
About the author
Mircea Eliade
569 books2,836 followersRomanian-born historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, professor at the University of Chicago, and one of the pre-eminent interpreters of world religion in the last century. Eliade was an intensely prolific author of fiction and non-fiction alike, publishing over 1,300 pieces over 60 years. He earned international fame with LE MYTHE DE L'ÉTERNAL RETOUR (1949, The Myth of the Eternal Return), an interpretation of religious symbols and imagery. Eliade was much interested in the world of the unconscious. The central theme in his novels was erotic love.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 7, 2021
More like 4,5/5
Read this if:
- you're interested in the topic (you're a scholar, enthusiast and so on)
- you have plenty of time to process the information (honestly, this book is really dense, and you'll probably want to check some stuff that are mentioned here)
To be fair, it is a magic journey. Every religious idea and religion is explored, and often you feel as if you walk with those cultures, people, scholars, thinkers and so on. I think you get a better understanding of the world, but also a better understanding of yourself as you will recognize some things that influenced your upbringing.
The book delivers what the writer promised: a history (not an interpretation) of various religious ideas and religions, and it does it great. I'm curious what have changed since the book was published, and probably I'll look more into it when I got the time.
It doesn't feel as if it's so serious. I mean, there are some chapters which seem pure comedy, other tragedy or a mix in between. But everything is fascinating (and I'm saying this because there are some ideas and religions or era that I have no interest whatsoever in them, but this book made them too catchy).
My only complaint is that it ended so abrupt. As if the author wanted to write another part, but it simply didn't have the time. Also, I think it is charming that Eliade transferred his writing style into this non-fiction work (? I guess you can call it that way). He may seem a bit biased in some parts, but it doesn't try to convince the reader that it is how he says it is (more like” yeah, that is what I believe based on the most recent discoveries, and what other colleagues believe too).
Give a shot.
Read this if:
- you're interested in the topic (you're a scholar, enthusiast and so on)
- you have plenty of time to process the information (honestly, this book is really dense, and you'll probably want to check some stuff that are mentioned here)
To be fair, it is a magic journey. Every religious idea and religion is explored, and often you feel as if you walk with those cultures, people, scholars, thinkers and so on. I think you get a better understanding of the world, but also a better understanding of yourself as you will recognize some things that influenced your upbringing.
The book delivers what the writer promised: a history (not an interpretation) of various religious ideas and religions, and it does it great. I'm curious what have changed since the book was published, and probably I'll look more into it when I got the time.
It doesn't feel as if it's so serious. I mean, there are some chapters which seem pure comedy, other tragedy or a mix in between. But everything is fascinating (and I'm saying this because there are some ideas and religions or era that I have no interest whatsoever in them, but this book made them too catchy).
My only complaint is that it ended so abrupt. As if the author wanted to write another part, but it simply didn't have the time. Also, I think it is charming that Eliade transferred his writing style into this non-fiction work (? I guess you can call it that way). He may seem a bit biased in some parts, but it doesn't try to convince the reader that it is how he says it is (more like” yeah, that is what I believe based on the most recent discoveries, and what other colleagues believe too).
Give a shot.
January 19, 2015
I've only read the first book of this series. It has very interesting information; I've always liked Eliade's writing.
However, it's not the type of book you can read on the subway, on your way to work. You have to give it all your attention in order to understand the information.
However, it's not the type of book you can read on the subway, on your way to work. You have to give it all your attention in order to understand the information.
April 18, 2022
O carte fascinantă dar foarte greu de digerat pentru un necunoscător. Este potrivită unui cercetător al domeniului.
January 14, 2024
4 months for the 4 volumes of the history of religions for me. Could have been profession changing, had I read them 15 years ago. I never realized how interesting this subject could really be. The next few words will be about the 4 volumes more or less in general, as my head is still reeling from the amount of information that was synthesized here.
Eliade died by the time of Vol 4, which can be clearly felt as that is more a compendium of different researchers and authors in this field and lacks the unity and cross-referencing that the previous volumes have. This doesn't mean that it lacks valuable ideas or insights, it's just different...
The most interesting one for me was Vol 1 dealing with archaic and ancient belief forms and religions, which was quite the eye-opener. That one kind of lays the foundation for the further volumes as the underlying theme, as I perceived it, is that certain experiences as well as certain influences among peoples in long forgotten times have lead to the development of various proto-religious beliefs, which then again developed due to various other influences leading to the appearance of religions in Antiquity.
I would even go as far as to say, that these are not only scholarly excellent works, though I don't know how much our understanding of religions changed in the past 40-50 years since Eliade, but these should be mandatory readings for teachers/preachers of the faith as well. I specifically think about Christians, but that's because of my own background. There's a lot to learn from these volumes, but it also takes quite some time to go deep into them.
Eliade died by the time of Vol 4, which can be clearly felt as that is more a compendium of different researchers and authors in this field and lacks the unity and cross-referencing that the previous volumes have. This doesn't mean that it lacks valuable ideas or insights, it's just different...
The most interesting one for me was Vol 1 dealing with archaic and ancient belief forms and religions, which was quite the eye-opener. That one kind of lays the foundation for the further volumes as the underlying theme, as I perceived it, is that certain experiences as well as certain influences among peoples in long forgotten times have lead to the development of various proto-religious beliefs, which then again developed due to various other influences leading to the appearance of religions in Antiquity.
I would even go as far as to say, that these are not only scholarly excellent works, though I don't know how much our understanding of religions changed in the past 40-50 years since Eliade, but these should be mandatory readings for teachers/preachers of the faith as well. I specifically think about Christians, but that's because of my own background. There's a lot to learn from these volumes, but it also takes quite some time to go deep into them.
June 20, 2022
Mereu te intorci la Eliade, fie ca vrei, fie ca nu. Monumentala opera sa.
December 6, 2025
Cartea asta e pur și simplu favorita mea. Eliade te plimbă prin religii și mituri din întreaga lume fără să fie plictisitor sau prea „școlar”. E genul de carte pe care poți să o deschizi la întâmplare și tot găsești ceva interesant. Nu e doar informativă, e și fascinantă – clar una dintre cele mai bune lecturi pe care le-am avut.
November 24, 2021
Mircea Eliade is the most recognized historian of religions.
Want to Read
February 13, 2023Este libro corresponde al volumen IV proyectado de esta historia de las religiones, publicado después de la muerte de Eliade y coordinado por Ioan Petru Culianu.
May 23, 2025
am citit-o pentru istoria creștinismului. not bad, putin monotona si biased, atata tot
November 7, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews