World Religions: The Great Faiths Explored and Explained

by John Bowker

Baffled by Buddhism? Confused by Catholicism? Mystified by Mysticism? Discover everything you need to know about the world's major religious faiths.

A compelling and insightful guide for uncovering and understanding a variety of the world's major religions, this book is the perfect gift for thinkers, borrowers, religious studies and philosophy students.

Learn new and profound information about a variety of faiths. In this educational guide, you'll

   • A chapter devoted to each of the major world religions — Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. 
   • Lesser-known religions and belief systems are covered, offering a comprehensive overview of faith.
   • Detailed illustrations and annotated works of art, and a timeline of religious history. 

Discover the world's major religions and other faiths from both the ancient and the modern world through this insightful guide. Explore over 450 classic works of religious and devotional art. With sacred texts, epic imagery, key beliefs and religious artifacts, this educational guide is perfect for libraries, classrooms and the bookshelves of those who simply love learning.

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

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Andrew Obrigewitsch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really not impressed by this book. It throws out a bunch of facts without mentioning their relative importances, and in fact puts in things that are not important at all and leaves out important parts of religions.

This is mainly true of Eastern religions the western ones are not so poorly described.

But I'm going to describe Christianity the way the book describes Hinduism. "Christianity has a holy trinity of gods, the Holy Spirit, God and Jesus. Jesus was believed to have walked on water and revive the dead. Mary his mother was a virgin. Many christians eat bread and drink wine to symbolize eating Jesus."

As you can see that description tells you some facts, while telling you nothing about what Christianity really is.

Additionally the book is made up mostly of the Christian and Jewish religions. With those taking up about 60% and then all other religions taking up the rest. I know nothing about ester religions and was reading the book to learn about them.

[Albert Tapias Planas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libro introductorio que busca dar una visión general sobre las principales religiones, destacando algunos matices entre ellas. La intención es buena, pero al querer abarcar tanto, se queda en la superficie y no profundiza en ningún aspecto concreto.
Puede servir como primera toma de contacto para quienes quieran empezar a familiarizarse con el tema, pero poco más.

[Gregory · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book has great pictures and lots of color, but I found it lacking in actual information. I felt that is wasn't well organized (use terms pages before defining them, circular definitions, etc.). Also the information it does give is so general that you could have guessed it or it isn't very different then saying nothing at all.

[Jen Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of religions, but pretty basic at times. However, it is not intended to be an in-depth look at world religions. As such, it was informative and I absolutely loved the final page: The Golden Rule which describes the Golden Rule in each faith, but what that means to religions as a whole. Are all religions trying to achieve the same thing through different methods, or not? It was an interesting conclusion.

While I understand it is impossible to describe many of the religions explained in this book fully due to the many sects within each faith, I found a huge emphasis on Catholicism in the section on Christianity. I would have liked to have seen a little less emphasis there, and more equally spread with the protestant faiths.

[Gabriela Torres Martín · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesante libro sobre las distintas religiones del mundo. Es una enciclopedia de lujo para tener de referencia en la biblioteca.

[Adham Abozaeid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice summary of the major religions and beliefs.

[Kacee Moreton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! A thorough history of religions from ancient Egyptian, Greek, Norse, Buddhism, and on down the line of Abrahamic. Very informative and especially liked the illustrations of symbols and their meanings.

[WitchHaven Apothecary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a plethora of information on many religions. It is well written and easy to understand. I bought this book and have let many borrow it with the same results. You can get much knowlegde from this read. I will read it again.

Namaste
Dani

[Yasir Nazir · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers cursory yet necessary details of all religions. Illustrations along with pictures play a vital role in assimilation of readers.

[Frank Lang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dieses Review bezieht sich auf die deutsche Edition, die im August 23 bei Dorling Kindersley Deutschland unter dem Titel "Religionen der Welt: Geschichte, Schriften, Traditionen." mit der ISBN 3831047596 erschienen ist.

Die drei großen „Weltreligionen“ Judentum, Christentum und Islam sind in unserem Kulturkreis mehr oder weniger bekannt. Zumindest meint jeder irgendetwas zu diesen Religionen sagen zu können. Anders sieht es mit Sicherheit bei anderen Religionen aus, wie z.B. der Sikhismus oder Jainismus. In diesem Lexikon finden mehrere Religionen aus unterschiedlichsten Kulturkreisen Platz. Beginnend bei den alten Religionen aus Ägypten, Griechenland und Rom über die schon erwähnten Weltreligionen bis hin zu weniger verbreiteten Naturreligionen.

In diesem Buch sind (wie es sich auch gehört) die Religionen wertfrei und gleichberechtigt vorgestellt. Angesichts der Gewalt, die im Namen diverser Religionen ausgeübt wurde und wird, nicht unbedingt selbstverständlich. Auch wird kein richtig oder falsch vermittelt, sondern jede Religion wird sachlich vorgestellt. Dabei wird ein in meinen Augen guter Mix aus Text- und Bildbausteinen verwendet. Es gibt keinen durchgehenden Fließtext, in dem die Religionen und deren Eigenschaften vorgestellt werden, sondern es werden unterschiedliche Aspekte jeweils auf ihre eigene Art und Weise präsentiert.

Fazit
Dieses Lexikon bietet einen guten Überblick über 30 Religionen unserer Welt. Es ist ein Nachschlagewerk, um einen ersten Eindruck vom Wesen der jeweiligen Religionen zu erhalten. Was zeichnet sie aus und wie werden die Gläubigen in der Glaubensgemeinschaft verankert? Ich persönlich finde, dass sich ein solches Lexikon auch dazu eignet, um extremistische Ansichten aufzuweichen, weil zu erkennen ist, dass es die eine richtige Religion nicht geben kann.

[Cameron]

On earth as it is in heaven.

"The bibliographer Christian imagines that it is the downfall of the mind, seeking to penetrate the mystery of God[...] It illustrates also in the most comprehensive way the old truth that 'except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.'

It is more correctly a question of analogy; one is concerned with the fall into the material and animal state, while the other signifies destruction on the intellectual side. The Tower has been spoken of as the chastisement of pride and the intellect overwhelmed in the attempt to penetrate the Mystery of God; but in neither case do these explanations account for the two persons who are the living sufferers. The one is the literal word made void and the other its false interpretation."

(XVI: The Tower, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot - A.E. Waite)


"If it had been possible to build the tower of Babel without ascending it, the work would have been permitted."

(The Tower of Babel, Parables & Paradoxes - Franz Kafka)


"There were many wild ideas in people's heads at that time[...] perhaps simply because so many were trying to join forces as far as they could for the achievement of a single aim. Human nature, essentially changeable, unstable as the dust, can endure no restraint; if it binds itself it soon begins to tear madly at its bonds, until it rends everything asunder, the wall, the bonds, and its very self."

(The Great Wall and the Tower of Babel, Parables & Paradoxes - Franz Kafka)

[Johann · Rating 2 out of 5]

John Bowker has put together a useful summary of some of the main religions of the world. However, I’d like to point out two things I feel are lacking in this summary.
First, there is a lacking a definition of religion. I say that because in the book the philosophies of Confucius and Buddha are both listed as religions although essentially, they are not. In the case of Confucius, he merely did put together a set of rules to make the administration of the Chinese Empire more efficient. Was it grand, and did it have a lasting effect? Yes, it did, but that does not make it a religion. Did the Beatles have a lasting effect? Well, we still don’t know how lasting their effect will be, but they are still felt in music today. However, I am sure most people will agree that listening to the Beatles is not a religion.
Second, there is a lack of truthfulness. When I say truthfulness, I do not mean the book is full of lies. Not at all. There are of course statements that are controversial and most of the time they are qualified as such. There is, however, a lack of complete truth. The religions are only painted in positive colors, as everything is perfectly fine with them. There is no mention of the Spanish Inquisition or persecution of people not agreeing with whatever religion they list.
Maybe that was not the purpose of the book or the intent, but it is a trait of religions, especially monotheist religions to persecute everyone that does not believe in their god, let alone, people that do not believe in any god at all.
However, if you are looking for a book to assist you with a school project about a particular religion, you may have found a useful tool.

[Rudi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik vond het een mooi boek om een wereldreis te maken en te leren over de verschillende en niet zo verschillende religies,
Religie lijkt te gebruiken en te misbruiken , om zin te geven , een houvast, morele keuzes (compas), een verbondenheid te creëren ook om te onderdrukken van , andere geslachten, emoties, hiërarchische structuren op te richten , enz , het heeft zijn voor en nadelen , wat kan/mag/moet, wat niet kan/mag/moet het heeft wat duidelijkheid , ... de overkoepelende spiritualiteit* het alles is bezielt * een verbinding van alles naar 1 * vind ik wel iets in ( * bij de sterretjes weet ik niet welke woorden te gebruiken ) we zitten allemaal in dezelfde pot hutsepot op weg naar dezelfde maag hapje voor hapje *

Het boek heeft een mooi overzicht van religies met foto’s en afbeeldingen op elke pagina waardoor het soms wat onoverzichtelijk is om te lezen , daarom 4 sterren , hoewel de foto’s en afbeeldingen het boek ook wel mooi maken ,

[Winnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book in this series. It's fantastic for a basic and clear understanding of the major religions, although it does briefly go over other types of spirituality and some indigenous faiths and ways of life. It explains a lot of the artwork and symbolism used in the major religions and gives you a comprehensive understanding that you can walk away with feeling like you have a grasp of what they are each about, how they view life and what is important to them in terms of mortality and morality. I enjoyed learning a bit more than I already new, and it certainly reinforced my knowledge too. A lot of pictures and small break downs of them to better understand what you're looking at too. I enjoyed this read. It didn't take long to get through either.

[Whitlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed that some of the chapters were so short compared to others, especially the last chapter "Indigenous Religions" which was just all indigenous religions of the world smooshed together into like 10 pages, yet Christianity/Islam/Judaism each had like 20+ pages?
Each chapter is mostly pictures and gives a very basic overview of each religion, so I didn't feel like I learned anything new. It would be a great book for someone who is just getting into religions and wants to start with a quick overview of each.

[KR · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very poorly organized. For one easy to explain example, it decided to define the idea of a ritual for the first time in the final few chapters of the book. If you’re not going to define those general framing concepts, fine, but if you are… why at the end?

Perhaps the images are a worthwhile record, but as an audiobook reader I lost even that small saving grace. Otherwise, this book is not worth the time it takes to read.

[Lan-Anh (Vivian) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is full of general facts, which are so hard to remember. No story telling and no deep analysis. I don’t think this book is written to be read page by page. I think it should be used this way: when you want to know some particular thing about a religion, you look it up from this book like you do the searching on Wikipedia. That’s it.

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers the major religions of the world such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Native American religions, and others. The traditions, styles of worship, sacred texts, and various sects of each religion are covered in full detail with pictures and drawings.

[Alex Larragoity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente resumen para entender lo básico de las principales religiones del mundo.

Lectura fácil, sencilla, con una forma de explicarlo muy original.

Recomendado para quien quiera tener una idea de lo que persiguen las principales religiones del mundo.

[Cecilia East · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 ⭐️ (Overall)
A good start if you are interested in understanding the basic concepts of different religions in the world. I found this to be an intriguing read that will help me target my research towards specific religions.

[Michelle Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

so idk how to feel about this one. yes it gives information about different religions, but it is not as great as i hoped...

and btw, christianity is more than the (roman) catholics... a lot has happend since 1517

[Nicole Petrova · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned about some new religions. The book is written in accessible language, perfect for enriching culture. At times I missed the depth of the text. It is obvious that the writer put a lot of effort into making it, a masterful work.

[Marco · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very broad view of the most known world religions. It does not go into much detail. A 2.5 Stars just because it is a good compilation of the most influential world's organized beliefs systems.

[Kelly Fischer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative, thorough and visual.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oversized book, made even more cumbersome by having many of the pages the long way, spread across both pages. okay explanation of the major religions.

[Erin Moe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much on the Abrahamic religions and not enough on the others. Plus nothing or almost nothing on pagan religions. Also too many pictures instead of real information.

[Tgar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely illustrated and great book cover.
Interesting history of religions.

[L.C. Wolff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for book research, would have loved to see more "minor" religions explained and mentioned as the ones mentioned in this book and their meaning were all familiar to me.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, though it didn’t translate well into an audiobook as the text described pictures you cannot see.

[Carlee Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite