Introducing World Religions

February 1, 2015

Farhadian (world religions and Christian mission, Westmont Coll.; Introducing World Christianity; Christianity, Islam and Nationalism in Indonesia) proposes to offer a comprehensive introduction to the world's religions, incorporating Christian perspectives. The book begins with a list of illustrations and a world map of religious populations including a historical map from 1910 for comparative purposes. Chapter 1 discusses the persistence of religion throughout the world, while the nine chapters that follow are devoted to particular groups of religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Taoism and Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and new religious movements. In each, a current overview is followed by an "Origins and Concepts" section that makes up the bulk of the chapter, and then information on "Worship and Practice" and "Modern Movements." Call-out boxes throughout integrate Christian reflections on the topics at hand. Each chapter ends with a time line, key terms, and a list of suggested readings. The work concludes with endnotes, a glossary, and bibliography. VERDICT Farhadian succeeds in providing a digestible overview of world religions from an ecumenical Christian perspective, avoiding any value judgments, a point of view that distinguishes the book from other reference offerings on the subject. A worthy addition for such collections supporting undergraduate studies in religion or theology.--Samantha Schmehl Hines, Mansfield Lib., Univ. of Montana, Missoula

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