The Sacred Paths: Understanding the Religions of the World (3rd Edition)

Unique in approach, this book combines an historical-descriptive presentation of individual religions with a comparative-thematic approach. It begins with a discussion of the basic human questions and concerns behind religion--e.g., origin and identity, ultimate reality, human nature, and the good life--and then uses these essential concepts to help describe the beliefs, practices, and historical development of each religion. As the work of a single scholar--much of it based on original research--this book offers a consistency and depth missing in many of the texts in this field. Covers religions from India (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism); China and Japan; the Mediterranean world (religions of Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Greece, the Zoroastrian Tradition, Judaism, Christianity, Islam); and Contemporary Alternative Religious Movements. For anyone interested in the world's religions.