Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The purpose of this book is to listen to the many different religions around the world and find common themes. We cannot know for sure whether or not the voices we hear blend in strange, ethereal harmony, but we can listen carefully and with full attention to each voice. #2 The book does not attempt to give a rounded view of the religions considered. Each host differences that are too numerous to be delineated in a single chapter. The first question facing an author is how many to include, and which ones. #3 The full story of religion is not rose-colored. It includes human sacrifice and scapegoating, fanaticism and persecution, the Christian Crusades and the holy wars of Islam. It includes witch hunts in Massachusetts, monkey trials in Tennessee, and snake worship in the Ozarks. #4 The best religions in the world are those that enamor their followers with the Truth. However, institutions, which are made up of people with their inbuilt frailties, are built of vices as well as virtues.

A presentation of the world's predominant religions includes the essential elements and teachings of each, and a description of their similarities and differences

This book has seven basic chapters: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. These he calls the "Major Historical Religions." They all have sacred texts. This book was intended to be a brief survey without an in-depth analysis. A new section was added to The World's Religions. It is entitled "The Primal Religions." It describes a broad sweep of religions such as those practiced by the Australian Aborigines, by the Native American Indians of North and South America and the religions of the interior of Africa. Huston Smith's masterpiece explores the essential elements and teachings of the world's predominant faiths, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the native traditions of Australia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. Emphasizing the inner--rather than the institutional--dimension of these religions, Smith devotes special attention to Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, Sufism, and the teachings of Jesus. He convincingly conveys the unique appeal and gifts of each of the traditions and reveals their hold on the human heart and imagination.

This classic companion to The World's Religions articulates the remarkable unity that underlies the world's religious traditions

Retaining all the beloved qualities of Huston Smith's classic The Religions of Man and the current fully revised and updated The World's Religions, this stunning pictorial presentation refines the text to its wonderful essentials. In detailed, absorbing, richly illustrated, and highly readable chapters on Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity and primal religions, we find refreshing and fascinating presentations of both the differences and the similarities among the worldwide religious traditions. The approach is at once classic and contemporary, retaining all the empathy, eloquence and erudition that millions of readers love about the earlier editions, while being edited and designed for a contemporary general readership. This delightful marriage of winsome text and remarkable pictures vividly brings to life the scope and vision of Huston Smith's expertise and insight.

Huston Smith, the author of the classic bestseller The World's Religions, delivers a passionate, timely message: The human spirit is being suffocated by the dominant materialistic worldview of our times. Smith champions a society in which religion is once again treasured and authentically practiced as the vital source of human wisdom.

A world Bible for our time from Buddhist, Hindu, Confucian, Taoist, Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and primal religion sources! In this perfect companion to Huston Smith's bestselling The World's Wisdom, Philip Novak distills the most powerful and elegant expressions of the wisdom of humankind. Authentic, poetic translations of key texts are coupled with insightful introductions and "grace notes."