While I personally don't claim* to be a follower of any religion, I do enjoy learning about them. (And there are quite a few.) One of my all time favorite classes in college was "The Philosophy of Religion." And The World's Religions by Huston Smith is one of the books we were required to read. And a book I still have and use.

Smith doesn't write from one religious view, thus comparing other religions to his (like what is done in The Kingdom of the Cults..) Rather, he takes each religion and examines them historically and by their impact. But it's not condescending to the minor religions. It's a very matter-of-fact book. And when you're learning about something, that's usually the way to go.

The book serves as an introduction to the religions, and further reading on specifics may be beneficial. The author does give you some suggested readings, although the edition I have is a little dated.

*If I absolutely had to claim a religion, though, I'd say Taoism. But for me it's more of a way of life then a religion.

The World's Religions at Amazon.com

This article was written by david and published on
July 7, 2007 at 6:36pm.
The article was given the following tags:

• books
• christianity
• religion
• taoism