The Joy of Sects: A Spirited Guide to the World's Religious Traditions

by Peter Occhiogrosso

A lighthearted guide to the religions of the world offers a basic understanding of international traditions, presenting the fundamental themes of Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as the philosophies of the New Age movement.

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion

625 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Peter Occhiogrosso is the author or coauthor of more than 20 nonfiction books, as well as a journalist who began his writing career in the 1970s as a music reviewer and interviewer. Since 1987 many of his books have focused on spirituality and world religion, although he has also coauthored books by public figures as disparate as talk-show host Larry King, cabaret singer Michael Feinstein, and rock icon Frank Zappa.

As his interests expanded from the world of music to encompass spiritual life and practices, Peter wrote a series of books about spiritual experience, including "Once A Catholic" (Houghton-Mifflin); "Through the Labyrinth" (Penguin); and a popular guide to the world's religions entitled "The Joy of Sects" (Doubleday). At the same time, he maintained a parallel career as a coauthor and collaborator, adding to his books with King and Zappa by helping to write Caroline Myss's "Why People Don't Heal" and "Sacred Contracts," both of which were New York Times Best Sellers.

He also coauthored five books on prayer and healing with Ron Roth, PhD. In 2012 he worked with yoga master Mark Whitwell to create "The Promise of Love, Sex, and Intimacy" (Atria). Following a lifelong interest in nutrition and health, Peter has also collaborated with Vijay Vad, MD, of the Hospital for Special Surgery, on a leading book about arthritis treatment, "Arthritis Rx" (Gotham), as well as Dr. Vad's latest book, "Stop Pain" (Hay House). Three of the books Peter coauthored became New York Times Best Sellers.

Reviews

[Brown Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure if there's a better introduction to the major religions of the world, but this introduction contains a lot of useful information I did not know. Any book that teaches me something is something to treasure. Maybe you will come to treasure it too.

It has an informal tone and is ecumenical in spirit, which is right up my alley, spirituality-wise. If you seek definitive answers to eternal questions, this is not the book you want.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

JOS is an enjoyable, entertaining and very user-friendly survey of the world's religions. It is rather biased towards making a point, that there's a "perennial philosophy" (very loosely, a spiritual, rather than religious element), that all these faiths have in common, and in the pursuit of this point, Occhiogrosso compares the mystical aspects of each faith with its more prosaic common elements. The book starts in the East with Hinduism and works its way west through Taoism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, The New Age, Native American Religion, and Wiccan.

A few things of value in this book: it clarifies the origins of the conflict between the Sunni and Shiite Islamic sects, and the way in which Paul altered Christianity (changing it from its early version into a rough precursor of its present form), and it digs through the complexities of Hinduism, just as a few examples.

Occhiogrosso is open minded about each faith, to a fault at times (in particular, he is perhaps too copiously charitable to Islam in general, to the point of giving a pass to the odious Islamic splinter group The Five Percent Nation). Some details also seem to have been passed over; for example, in the section on Occultism, Aleister Crowley gets but a name-check and Anton Lavey gets nary a mention.

[Lucia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Think this book motivated me to study religion in college. Fast read with good overviews of world religions and their many sects ;o) Love the name, too!

[Tristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another must-have in the Interfaith library. And a great book for those who want to understand the world's religions in a deeper, yet playful way.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disorganized and poorly laid out, this book reaches towards entertaining and informative but misses.

[Jimmyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very thorough, very funny, very useful.