30-Second Religion

30 Saniyede Serisi

by Russell Re Manning (Editor)

30-Second Religion decants and demystifies the key beliefs, deities, origins, and iconography of the worlds major religions, denominations, and less widespread sects and cults. Whether you wish to understand the key differences between Catholicism and Protestantism, to glimpse the many gods of Hinduism, or to digest a potted Buddhist philosophy, this book is the quickest way to walk the paths and recognize the key signposts of the worlds diverse and fascinating faiths. Travelling from Buddhism to Zoroastrianism, and including features on key religious texts, 30-Second Religion offers a revelation of 50 belief systems in less time than it takes to offer up a prayer.

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, History, Reference, Spirituality, Education, Philosophy

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Kira · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was super excited to get into this book because I wanted a run down of various religious beliefs so I might better understand our differences and values on this planet. I think this book gave a rundown pretty well, however it was fairly biased on certain religions and that was unfortunate. I suppose the point of someone who doesn’t practice the beliefs explaining was to be partial but it wasn’t for all. The authors inclusion of “black supremacy” was really funny and uneducated. He clearly left out the ways in which religion and white supremacy had combined creating multidimensional oppression (I.E. exclusion from white churches, ethnocentrism amongst anglo missionaries, condemnation of indigenous beliefs especially in Boarding schools, etc). Aiming for black liberation doesn’t equate to supremacy. He noted the Black Panther Party of Self Defense as “black supremacist” and I shook my head because he obviously did not take historical, political, social, or economic context of the Black Panther party, nor did he understand their actions and goals. Read the Textbook “Freedom on My Mind” by Bay et al. for the history and context and understanding. Also, He was quick to point out sexism and homophobia within Rastafarianism, but completely avoided discussion of it in the European/ Christianity based beliefs. Sexism and Homophobia are prevalent in almost every major religion and are influenced by culture as well as influencing culture. I know people who hold beliefs across the spectrum and some of the descriptions were negatively biased and did not accurately reflect beliefs upheld by groups of people. Some of the breakdowns were really awesome and just explained it while referencing other figures to look into for a further understanding of the religion. I know he couldn’t go in depth because the whole point is “30 sec” but I think the pictures on the page would’ve been better substituted with quotes from spiritual leaders or an authority of that faith briefly explaining their beliefs. All in all, I learned you get the most accurate information about a religion from someone who is an active practitioner, and having an inquisitive/critical mind. However, I did enjoy all the different beliefs and value systems this exposed me to, some of which I’ll do more research into myself. I just wish the author would’ve written with the same partiality on ALL of the religions. And also referenced more sources for the info in the text.

[Jas · Rating 3 out of 5]

For anyone who has read it, please note that Sikhism is not a sect of Hinduism as the book says. Sikhism and Hinduism have opposing views on some pretty big things. But otherwise I think it's a cool book to get a basic understanding of a bunch of different religions.

[أروى · Rating 4 out of 5]

عنوان الكتاب يشرح نفسه. أحببت الكتاب (تغليفه، طباعته) و حتى محتواه. فالكاتب يشرح أشهر الديانات و الطوائف في صفحة واحدة فقط. أظن أنه حاول قدر الإمكان أن يكون موضوعيا و أن يحوي معلومات دقيقة. إذا كنت تجيد الإنجليزية، و تستطيع الحصول على هذا الكتاب، أعتقد أنه سيكون كتاب مهم في مكتبتك لن تتوقف عن الرجوع له.
أتمنى فعلا أنا أرى نسخة عربية منه.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exactly what it claims to be - broad scope but shallow depth. Enough to help give direction.

[Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

thank god I'm an atheist

[Karine · Rating 4 out of 5]

C'est mon livre en 2021 pour le défi de lecture, n°4: Lire un livre choisis au hasard des étagères d’une bibliothèque.

Ce roman ma tellement ouvert le yeux à la diversité des religions et ma donner juste assez d’informations sans trop en partager. Trop en donner m’aurais fait perdre l’intérêt, j’ai vraiment aimer ce livre.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative for beginners. If you just want to learn the basics of a subject, this is the books for you. I learned about religions I have never heard of before. The book also manage to capture and keep my attention. Definitely want to read the other books of the series.

[Etienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un autre bon livres de cette collection. Toujours bien fait et instructif. On y parle des grandes religions, mais aussi des sous-branches et autres courants.

[Grady Ormsby · Rating 3 out of 5]

30-Second Religion: The 50 Most Thought-Provoking Religious Beliefs, Each Explained in Half a Minute edited by Russell Re Manning is an interesting volume. I read it straight through, but I’m going to shelve it among my reference books.

The book is divided into seven categories: Indigenous Traditions, Eastern Spiritualities, Abrahamic Traditions, European Christianities, World Christianities, Fusion Religions, and New Religions. The last two sections deal with the most unusual sects. Each entry is brief although the “Half a Minute” claim made in the subtitle is way off. It took me closer to two-and-a-half to three minutes to read each one. There are seven “Key Text” articles that describe important scriptural texts. The articles are objective with no religion being promoted nor any denigrated. I found them all to be clear, concise and informative.

The book is richly illustrated by Ivan Hissey with portraits of people, related places and pertinent symbols.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️
A well-written, quick look at many different religions!

As a Christian, I think they did a pretty good job at grasping and explaining various Christian doctrines. However, they did get a few details wrong: most Lutherans do NOT pray to Mary, for example. And I've never heard that Calvinists reject images in their church buildings (they reject icons, but so do most Protestants).

EDIT: I looked up some church history and it sounds like some early Calvinists were deeply against all sacred art. However, that has not remained a central aspect of Calvinism.

This makes me a little nervous that the authors messed up details about other religions, too, which I didn't know enough about to catch.

However, as an overview to religions, it was interesting and informative.

[William Schram · Rating 3 out of 5]

I might have mentioned this before, but I am an atheist. What brings me to read this book, then? In a perfect world, my atheism wouldn't influence my choices in reading material.

The book 30 Second Religion discusses world religions from a scholarly, dispassionate position. The book takes the various flavors of world religions and examines the basics of each.

It follows the same pattern as all the other books in this series. It covers the subject in chronological order. The earliest religions are lost in the mists of time, but Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all have foundation stories.

Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.

[Shacoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was very educational. I think the art included in the book was beautiful. The “30 Second” format made it feel much less intimidating to learn about these complex religions. I was able to gain a lot of information about these religions on a surface level, which is exactly what I was hoping for. I plan to now find a book that speaks a little more in depth about the religions in this book that were of interest to me.

[aly ⋆₊˚⊹ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great quick overview, but I am not sure how accurate all the information is. Definitely do more research if you want to learn more about a specific religion. When reading this remember religions are very complex so these quick blurbs are only a sliver about them. Besides that, it was great to read about lesser known religions/spiritual practices!

[Kelly Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book’s layout is superb for reading this type of material. It’s clear and completely understandable.

It solidifies my notion that generally most religions believe in the same things; something/someone to believe in, balance, learning/growth, and kindness. What makes them different is cultural based. We should love and support each other period!

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spent time reading one or two of these a day over several months. The title of the book expresses exactly the content of the book, short introductions to a variety of world religions. Well written and sparked my curiosity about several that were unfamiliar to me.

[Linda Bestebreur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessant! Maar doordat het zó kort besproken wordt, weet je eigenlijk vaak nog net niks. Wel goed als introductie, ik kende zeker nog niet alle religies. Het nodigt wel uit om verder te zoeken naar informatie.

[Eddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally a book about Religions that comes from a non-biased perspective. No proving one is right while another is wrong, just basic tenants that most practicioners follow.

[Cate Deppe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for getting the down and dirty gist of many popular religions. Good reference and void of a push in any direction.

[Ellen Jarrard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great review book for APWH, which is part of the reason I first picked it up. I was also actually interested in different religions.

[Alex Gruenenfelder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant exploration of world religions. The book is easy-to-read, short, and yet captivating all the same.

[Tengis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ялгаж чаддаггүй бсан зүйлээ ялгаж сурлаа

[Lukas Compton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually love books on theology, but this was really dry. Thought it being so broad would keep it alive, but nope... got no better.

[Seth Hobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative and consise!

[Mariz Hesham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wanted to know what do other nations believe in so I got that book 🤩
I love how this book gives an idea about religions but the reason I gave it 4 stars is that they use hard vocabulary.

[Daniel Jansky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good informative book, but they got some aspects of Lutheranism wrong.

[Lari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually answered some of my questions about the differences between different types of Christianity, so that was pretty cool. This is a book I would like to own, just because it seems so useful.

[Nick Swarbrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bizarre organisation, sweeping statements, nice graphics. Didn’t buy it.

[Emma Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! There were so many interesting religions I never really knew much about and it was a pretty fast and informative read.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just what it says it is. This is a brief book about a variety of religions worldwide.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good if you need a summary of the main religions out there.