The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions [Hardcover]

John Bowker (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 8, 1997

IThe Oxford Dictionary of World Religions is an exceptionally wide-ranging A-Z reference guide to the history, beliefs, dogmas, practices, individuals, customs, and artifacts of the worlds religions past and present. As well as detailed information on individual religious traditions, there are fascinating general entries on common topics such as prayer, ethics, asceticism, confession, cosmology, art and architecture, and music.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Bowker (divinity, Gresham Coll., London) has produced two very different books, though both are focused on world religion. The Oxford Dictionary, whose entries often lack information on etymology and pronunciation, is actually a one-volume desktop encyclopedia for ready reference. Combining brevity of exposition with a massive number of entries in an attempt to be dictionary-like, the work suffers from trying to be comprehensive in breadth of coverage instead of depth. The psychology of religion is discussed in a half-page, for instance, and the Church Fathers get only two sentences. In addition, the entries are uneven in quality; one has the feeling that the 80 contributors are each writing according to his or her own personal interests and styles. Despite these idiosyncracies, the work is a solid reference source for people who want to know only the barest of facts about any religious topic. In World Religions, on the other hand, one has the feeling that Bowker, now the author, is finally freed to range over what he wants to say and how he wants to say it. This book is a bold attempt to meld religious information with expressive art and to use the art as a tool for pedagogy. Each religion is represented by a few brilliantly illustrated icons, paintings, or sculptures, which the author painstakingly annotates to illuminate their theologies and deepen one's insight. Whether he is using Michelangelo's Final Judgment to explain Christian eschatology or a handscroll of Chou Ch'en to explain Taoist concepts of immortality, the emphasis upon the visual makes these religions vibrant and intriguing. There are surprising discrepancies between the two works. World Religions has generous discussions of the ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Norse, and Celtic religions, topics not even included in the Oxford Dictionary. There are also variations of names. Ultimately, World Religions is the more commendable publication, though both books are recommended for most libraries.?Glenn Masuchika, Chaminade Univ. Lib., Honolulu
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Learning about the world's many spiritual traditions can be a challenge. This title, designed "to provide initial bearings," is an excellent place to start. With an introductory essay on the meaning of religion by editor Bowker, a professor of religion, and more than 8,200 alphabetical entries on a wide range of subjects, it offers an overview of concepts from world religions as well as movements, sects, and cults. There are no illustrations, but Bowker recently completed World Religions (DK, 1997), a profusely illustrated volume that is a good companion to this work.

The entries include broad topics such as prayer and cosmology; specific religions; historical events such as the Reformation and the Crusades; sacred texts; individuals; doctrines; sacred sites; customs; and ethics. Asterisks designate cross-references to terms with their own entries. See and see also references refer users to related material. Many entries have bibliographic citations to books on the subject for further research. Terms in language with non-Roman alphabets are transliterated. There is a special index of Chinese headwords with a Wade-Giles/Pinyin conversion table. A topic index directs readers to entry headings on broad subject areas so that someone interested in dietary laws and customs could look under Food and find entries for Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Shinto, Sikh, Taoist, and Zen regimens.

A comparable source is The HarperCollins Dictionary of Religion [RBB Ap 15 96], which has 3,200 articles. This is far fewer than the Oxford work, but HarperCollins devotes significant space to comprehensive feature articles on major religions--32 pages on Buddhism, for example. It also covers extinct religions, such as those of ancient Greece and Rome, which are not included in the Oxford dictionary. In general, the HarperCollins dictionary has more coverage of religions, while the Oxford dictionary provides more coverage of concepts, people, events, and so on. For example, HarperCollins has several pages on Afro-Brazilian religions, while Oxford has a single paragraph. HarperCollins has six pages on Native American religions, which is not an entry in the Oxford dictionary. On the other hand, Oxford has nearly four pages on the Reformation, compared to one page in HarperCollins; over a column on John Calvin, compared to six lines in HarperCollins; a column on evil, compared to three lines in HarperCollins. The HarperCollins dictionary has no bibliographies, although sources are cited within the text. It does, however, have some illustrations, as well as maps, tables, and timelines.

Whether one is searching for the text of the Shema (the Jewish confession of faith) or information about Rastafarians, Oxford Dictionary of World Religions is a useful source. Although naturally less complete than Mircea Eliade's Encyclopedia of Religion [RBB O 1 87], it does provide a reasonably priced, very good introduction to a diverse subject area. Recommended for high-school, public, and academic libraries, especially those that do not already own the HarperCollins dictionary.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1136 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; First edition. edition (May 8, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192139657
• ISBN-13: 978-0192139658
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #264,381 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, April 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (Hardcover)

The dictionary does its job in explaining religious terms in an up-to-date, clear, and concise manner. The majority of the terms have at the end of the definition a list of books whereby the reader can persue the idea further. All of the broad terms (e.g., death, angels, sin) are broken down into sections for each of the major religions; the major religions themselves are broken down historically. There are a few terms, however, that I would have liked expanded, or were missing, but then again, this is just a general dictionary of religion.

A great reference source if you are interested in studying religion.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent and comprehensive source, April 16, 2000

By 

"elizathegoddess" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (Hardcover)

This book is probably one of the most comprehensive guides I've seen on the subject of the world's religions. It includes incredibly fascinating details on past and present religions. However, it may be too detailed for some.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Many faces of faithful response, July 15, 2003

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (Hardcover)

The 'Oxford Dictionary of World Religions' is a concise and comprehensive single-volume reference to the religions, faith systems, and spiritual practises of the world. This dictionary has one of the broadest ranges for any multi-religious guide around. The book contains nearly 13,000 entries, broadly categorised as follows:

- Religions
- Movements, sects, cults
- Scriptural and philosophical text synopses and analyses
- Biographies of individuals
- Sacred sites
- Customs and practises

- Ethics and moral systems
- Themes on general topics

Edited by John Bowker, the text is introduced by an essay which pulls together philosophical, sociological and historical information tying together the concepts of religion. 'A strange thing about religion is that we all know what it is until someone ask us to tell them. As Augustine said of time, "What, then, is time? If no one asks me I know; but if I have to say what it is to one who asks, I know not." That has not stopped people trying to define religion, but their definitions are clearly different.'

Bowker, who has published several books including award winning books on the relationship of God and science, and the meaning of death in religious frameworks, has pulled together a team of over 80 contributors, some of the brightest names in the study of religion. Thus, articles and entries are contributed by experts in their respective fields, edited and cross-referenced by Bowker and his team of eight consultant editors who hold academic posts on three continents.

In an innovative fashion, Bowker has included a topical index in back which shows in an abbreviated and quickly-referenced fashion the interrelationship between topics; for instance, if one is using this text to research Anglicanism, in addition to such well-known entries such as Book of Common Prayer and Lambeth Conferences, one would be directed also to see the articles on:

African Greek Orthodox Church
Cambridge Platonists
Sundar Singh
Order of Ethiopia
Latitudinarianism

This makes for interesting reading. Every now and then, an article will be surprising. If you want to research Wrathful Dieties, there is an article so entitled, which discusses both the specifics of events in scripture (God in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scripture is sometimes shown as a wrathful and vengeful) and the general purpose behind the wrathful imagery (moral seriousness).

Also, if you want to know for certain what a Holy Fool is, here is the place! I confess I sometimes feel like a holy fool (as opposed to being more generally an unholy one), but this book has clarified this for me so that I no longer feel that way. According to the dictionary, holy fools are: 'Figures who subvert prevailing orthodoxy and orthopraxis in order to point to the truth which lies beyond immediate conformity. The holy fool endeavours to express the insistence of all religions that detachment from the standards of the world is the sine qua non of advance into truth.'

Many of the articles contain suggestions for further reading, either specific titles or, more generally, authors of note on the topic in question. This is a great reference source, and one I have referenced frequently both in my studies and my personal researches.