The Illustrated Guide to World Religions
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Book Summary Information
Editor: Michael D. CooganEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-12-11
ISBN: 019521997X
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Book Reviews of The Illustrated Guide to World Religions
Book Review: A terse introduction into the seven major world religions
Summary: 4 Stars
The belief in a being conceived as the perfect ruler and creator of the universe has defined culture, politics and the ethos of humanity since prehistoric times. The effect of religious beliefs are found in the headlines of today's news.
Yet as powerful as religion is most of humankind live in ignorance about other's religious beliefs. This guide can help readers to be better informed about the seven major religions of the world.
I used the book prior to my visit to Buddhistic Thailand. I was in need of a fast refresher course on Buddhism as my college course, "Comparative Religions", taken in the early seventies, had seriously faded.
The information in this book is rudimentary, and though the information stimulated dormant brain cells there was no new insights added. The photos and maps (showing the world influence of each religion) are superb. The writing is clear and easy to understand (most teenagers would easily grasp the concepts). Each chapter lays out information about the basic dogma of each religion, and deals with such issues as the role of women, afterlife (exception being Judaism), holidays and important sacred text. Yet, this guide would have had been more informative if it included charts and gave the readers contemporary illustrations of each faith (ie sidebars that give biographic sketches of today's `leaders and shakers' in each faith). In short it could have been better.
For those that have a comprehension of the major world religions Michael Coogan's book will not add much to your knowledge. For those little to no comprehesion and are in search of a quick, terse introduction into the seven major world religions (Jr. High/High School especially) this guide is recommended. 3.5 stars A side note I found Karen Armstrong's short book "Buddha" to be an excellent read.
Summary of The Illustrated Guide to World Religions
Graced with rich illustrations and written by a team of eminent scholars, The Illustrated Guide to World Religions presents a wealth of information on faiths around the world.Each chapter in this volume examines one of seven major world religions--from Judaism to Christianity and from Islam to Buddhism--and contains information about its holidays and festivities, key historical and mythological figures, architectural styles, calendars, language, and important texts. The book deals with such issues as the afterlife, the role of women, the importance of saints, and the quest for higher wisdom. We discover, for instance, that Pure Land Buddhism--found mainly in China, Japan, and Tibet--holds that meditation on a particular deity at the moment of death will help insure rebirth into that deity's celestial domain. In Judaism, on the other hand, the concept of an afterlife has never played a central role. Uniquely organized in a manner that encourages comparative analysis, the book's lavish full-color art, maps, and photographs all focus on faith in practice, in both elaborate ritual and everyday life.
Religion continues to be a monumental force in a rapidly changing world. Whether tracing the origins of your own faith or attempting to satisfy a curiosity about religious practices an ocean away, The Illustrated Guide to World Religions will be a fascinating and indispensable guide to the complexity of the world's living religions.
Few topics are as complex as religion, and few educational references do as impressive a job of summing up in clear, precise, and easy-to-understand prose the precepts, history, and practices of the world's major faiths. Michael D. Coogan has all the background to tackle such a formidable task. Currently the director of publications for the Harvard Semitic Museum, he has taught at Harvard and Wellesley, excavated in Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, and edited both the Oxford Companion to the Bible and the Oxford History of the Biblical World. Beautifully illustrated with artwork, photography, maps, and graphs, this guide provides a lucid introduction to Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism, as well as the religious traditions of China and Japan. Coogan explains each religion's origins and divine beliefs, sacred texts and individuals, the concepts of death and the afterlife, and how the religion is expressed in society, rites of passage, education, and gender roles. The reference shelves have been lacking a good, comprehensive yet accessible religion guide. It's a pleasure to see such a concise, readable, and attractive piece of erudition address that need. --Stephanie Gold
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