The Heathen's Guide to World Religions: A Secular History of the One True Faiths

by William Hopper

The Heathen’s Guide to World Religions is a humorous but accurate history of the murder, lust, greed, and sheer stupidity that have made the world’s religions what they are today. “Hopper represents the most lethal of organized religions many a curious, well-educated individual with a sharp wit.” ~Queen’s University Journal Review “Wickedly fun and informative.” ~Toronto Star “The Heathen’s Guide To World Religions has taken up permanent residence on my bookshelves... a masterfully written, wonderfully funny, and deliciously snarky trip down religious lane." ~Al Stefanelli, UNITED ATHEIST FRONT. "Like Monty Python in religious garb… easily one of the best places to invest your book buying dollar.” ~Georgia Straight

Genres: Religion, History, Nonfiction, Atheism, Humor

312 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2000

Reviews

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a good survey of the world's major religions from an historical perspective. The cynical humor makes the book more entertaining to read (if you aren't too attached to any of the religions Hopper discusses). My copy had a table of contents and an index, but the book itself had no page numbers, so they were of marginal help in finding material. The many, many editing errors were annoying. They detracted from the credibility of the author and drew attention away from the otherwise informative content. I understand this book has been in print since 1997. Does no one care enough to fix these errors? Five stars for taking on the topic, which is not addressed sufficiently in easy-to-read and understand formats like this one. Four starts for thoroughness and mostly (as far as I know) accurate coverage of the material (check what immaculate conception really means in Catholic dogma). Zero stars for book formatting and editing.

[Johnny Clyde · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it's more of a two, but a two seems too harsh. I enjoyed it well enough, but had trouble following the origins of each religion as it was told from the perspective that the book that religion is based on was telling some form of the truth when reading other books have shown that there's not much basis on that either.
So with a grain of salt, the book is a pretty good broad overview as long as you kind of ignore the ancient origins of religions (Moses, Mahummad, Buddha) and instead learn from how these religions shifted and changed and became what they are now.

[Linda J Rogers · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this would be a serious comparison of religion but it's nothing but snark.

[Book Shark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Heathen's Guide to World Religions by William Hopper

"The Heathen's Guide to World Religions" is an irreverent, humorous, yet informative book about world religions. The book focuses on the origin of five major religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. This 312-page book is composed of five major chapters based on the aforementioned religions and many subchapters.

Positives:

1. A surprisingly informative book on the major religions of the world.
2. Better researched than the humor would lead you to believe.
3. A humorous and irreverent tone that propels the book forward.
4. Humor aside, this book provides an insightful look at how the main religions originated.
5. Great quotes open every single subchapter. Excellent!
6. Interesting and at times fascinating facts spruced throughout the book.
7. Mr. Hopper does a great job of defining religious terms.
8. Interesting how religions impacted the history of our planet. Many great examples throughout the book.
9. Many great examples of how religions build or steal rituals from other religions.
10. Interesting Jewish polytheistic history.
11. The huge impact of Paul and Constantine on Christianity. The New Testament as a "Paulinian" Bible.
12. How faith fosters intolerance.
13. The Crusades, the Inquisition, Indulgences, Oh my.
14. The impact of religious icons across all religions.
15. The interesting history of Baghdad as a cultural center for 400 years.
16. Great introductory insights on Eastern religions and how they are related.
17. The Hindu Trinity...interesting.
18. The real meaning behind Karma.
19. How Buddhism ended up in China.
20. How religious faith can be misused as a source of political power.
21. Ultimately this book educates and the "irreverent" Kindle price of $6.66 makes this book a good value.


Negatives:

1. No table of contents, WT?
2. The book felt rushed as evidenced by a lack of a comprehensive bibliography (yes there is one but really incomplete).
3. The book could have used a better editor. The format of the book didn't help either...and you can forget about links for the Kindle.
4. Some of the irreverent humor will rub some the wrong way.
5. A table or flowchart of how religions are related would have added value.
6. Despite the irreverent humor it does play the PC card.
7. This book is by no means a scholarly effort but it is ultimately an effective one as it does provide valuable information to the masses.

In summary, this book was a pleasant surprise. It does accomplish its main mission of educating the masses on the origins of the five major religions. It takes a lot of chances with its humor but at times it does help with what would have otherwise have been a dull read. It's not scholarly but effective. I was disappointed that this book was rushed as evidenced by the poor editing, lack of table of contents and overall polish but ultimately it rewards the readers with good information and a great value.

Further reading: "God Hates You, Hate Back" and "Jesus Lied - He Was Only Human" by CJ Werleman, and "Biblical Nonsense..." by Jason Long.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It might be unfair to include William Hopper's The Heathen's Guide to World Religions with works by Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins. That's because Hopper's work is a Marxist manifesto. Marx as in Groucho Marx.[return][return]Yet that may be what is ultimately required when it comes to advocating atheism. Religious faith and belief are not founded on concepts of logic, reasoning or the scientific method. As a result, perhaps humor is the only way to draw believers in and educate them.[return][return]Farce is not Hopper's sole approach to his "secular history of the One True Faiths." It is actually two-fold. The serious side examines the precepts and contentions of various religions in the context of what history actually reveals. The other is to approach it all with biting satire and flat out humor. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't.[return][return]Hopper, a Canadian who pursued a college program in world religions, turns a skeptic's eye toward the largest of the world's religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. One thing is certain. When Hopper offends, he does so on an equal opportunity basis. Thus, Jesus is referred to as "JC" or "Josh" (short for Joshua, his actual Hebrew name), Buddha as "Sid" (short for his real name, Siddhartha Gautama).[return][return]People like me who tend to look askance at religion likely will find The Heathen's Guide far funnier and less offensive than believers. And, certainly, believers will find that shots Hopper takes at other religions far more palatable than any shots he may take toward their own. But Hopper is also intent on trying to educate people about what history really says.[return][return]Balance of review at http://prairieprogressive.com/2006/11...

[NJ Wong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite the completely irreverent tone towards the religious, this is a very informative book about the major religions. Each religion is tackled concisely, and gives a very good overview about all the 5 world religions.

Of course, so as not to offend EVERYBODY, he did not include a satirical listing of strange beliefs and practices of each religion. Maybe there is just too many to list - but perhaps a top 10 list for each religion would be appropriate for a "Heathen's Guide".

The most interesting books I have read on religion are usually written by "heathens". As a heathen myself, I just don't find religion books with a bias for religion to be particularly persuasive. Religion books written by non-believers are better written - as there is no need for their authors to squirm and wriggle and rationalise with ridiculous explanations about incredible things.

[AStar Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

So...I think I would really like to give this book 3 and 3/4 stars...but Goodreads doesn't give that option. This book was hugely entertaining and very interesting. The only reason I would mark it down, is that it got slightly droll in a couple sections and at least the version I had had MANY editing errors (as if it had never actually been edited). I really enjoyed the author's humor...and even though at first I almost thought it was too blasphemous (which is funny coming from an atheist)...he had so many points that I enjoyed hearing about, that it just didn't matter. One of my favorite aspects were the quotes at the beginning of every sub-section...absolutely hilarious :) I will definitely check out his follow-up Heathen's books.

[Kylene Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book that went through the history of five major religions. He looked at facts that could be proven and not the myths in the holy books. I found it fascinating at times at how much the three religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all started the same way and all have the same basic beliefs. There is not much difference there. It is so sad how many people hate over these silly differences in a mythology. (No slamming please, this is MY OPINION)

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit on the satirical side, but does a great job in explaining the history of the major faiths on the planet... Everything contained within does have a bibliographical reference... All in all it is a fun ride through history, letting you see how the modern religions were invented and how they kept the control over all of these years.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely loved reading this book! Hilarious and informative all at the same time. Too bad it had so many typos and editing issues - but I wouldn't let that deter anyone from reading it. I had a blast reading this book!

[Donovan Rowlands · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny but clearly one sided (atheism) point of view. I recommend it.

[Duru · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spectacular!