Religion For Dummies [Paperback]

The God Squad (Author), Rabbi Marc Gellman (Author), Monsignor Thomas Hartman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 16, 2002

Why are we here?
How should we live?
What happens after we die?
Why does evil exist?

Religion For Dummies explains how the world’s great religions answer questions that persist through generations. Authors Rabbi Marc Gellman and Monsignor Thomas Hartman are trusted religious advisors known as the God Squad. With wonderful wit and incredible wisdom, they host a daily talk show which reaches nearly 4 million homes in the New York area, and have appeared on numerous TV and radio shows.

This book is not a scholarly theological treatise; it’s a lively, practical, hands-on resource that will help you better understand your own religion and others. You’ll explore:

• Religion's role in the family and in the workplace
• The beliefs and practices of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and other religions
• Religion's impact during major passages in life such as birth, death, and marriage
• How to join a religion and how to pray
• How religion can help you deal with issues in every day life such as conflict, adversity, marriage, divorce, and more
• Religious rituals and ethics

Religion for Dummies touches on lesser-known religions (such as, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, Sikhism). It explores how people of various faiths pray, celebrate life and death, and view moral issues. The book does not tell you what to believe, but rather encourages you to live as you believe and let your religion infuse every aspect of your life. It doesn’t give simple answers to haunting, complex questions; it helps you find your own answers and pursue your own spiritual path!

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Gain a deeper understanding of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and other faiths!

A wise and witty road map for exploring life’s big questions

Why are we here? How should we live? What happens after we die? Why does evil exist? This lively and informative reference explains how the world’s great religions answer these questions – and shows how religious beliefs and rituals give meaning to life and help us cope with conflict, adversity, marriage, and much more!

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

About the Author

Rabbi Marc Gellman and Monsignor Thomas Hartman host cable TV's The God Squad and appear frequently on Good Morning America and Imus in the Morning. They have written several children's books on religion.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (August 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764552643
• ISBN-13: 978-0764552649
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #152,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Comprehensive Look at Major World Religions (and more), October 4, 2002

By 

"81simmons" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Religion For Dummies (Paperback)

I found "Religion For Dummies" to provide a comprehensive overview of the world's major religions and was glad to see that it also touched on lesser-known religions (e.g., Zoroastrianism, Jainism, Sikhism). I liked that it doesn't focus on political differences. You get to see how people of other faiths pray, celebrate life and death, and view moral issues -- which can only help us humans see our similarities. The book is slightly weighted toward the Judeo-Christian tradition (but consider that the authors are a rabbi and priest); however, it doesn't skimp on coverage of the other major religions. "Religion For Dummies" is a good foundation for the titles in what seems to be an expanding lineup in the Dummies' religion/spirituality series. My final word: Worth the money -- you gain a broad understanding of the major religions and get a chance to discover the lesser-known ones.

71 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Should be required reading - in my humble opinion, July 10, 2003

By 

Mr. Stanley M. Schmidt "boymitch" (Rockford, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Religion For Dummies (Paperback)

First of all, I'm not a reader, but I was compelled to purchase and read this book after "The God Squad" appeared on Imus in the Morning on WFAN/MSNBC. I'm glad I purchased the book and here's why: This book breaks the major religeons down to fundamental basics that the layperson can understand. After reading this book, I'm surprised there isn't more religeous strife going on in the world due to the sheer differences in beliefs and theological structures.

I've always been fascinated by religeon, especially since I am of the scientific/realist wing. I am, however, glad I spent the hours I did digesting this material. For the few bucks it costs - not a bad bargain.

I know other reviews are much more eloquent than this, but I wanted to toss my two cents in and give this book a "thumbs up"!

62 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A difficult subject, September 14, 2004

By 

Seeker (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Religion For Dummies (Paperback)

This book is taking on an enormous subject and has made a brave effort at giving a brief explanation of many religions and more details on Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
BUT! and it is a big but... in trying to give more information on just a couple of faiths it fails to give a proper, balanced, realistic picture. For example: the Christianity side heavily emphasises the Roman Catholic beliefs - the different Protestant beliefs are but lightly touched on and Anglicanism (Church of England - which is one of the world's biggest Protestant churches) is not mentioned at all. Some of the information is rather odd: for example it is claimed that Protestant Christians rarely celebrate the Eucharist. Well, not in my experience: in the UK most churches celebrate it several times a week!
The same criticism can be levelled at the description of Judaism: reading this book one would never guess how radically different the various Jewish groups are (and how much they are often daggers drawn too). And ditto Islam.
I accept that I am going to see this book differently from an American reader but I could not see why the other religions were so lightly touched on. In the UK there is a substantial population of Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs: I had expected this book to give more information about these faiths and to expand my knowledge of them. It didn't. This book is too heavily orientated towards 'The Big Three' and there are other, better books that cover these.
I was pleased to see that Native American faiths were lightly touched on and a hint was given about Australian Aboriginal beliefs.
As I was aware from my own studies of several spectacular errors and a lot of small misunderstandings (which I accept are inevitable on such a subject) I became doubtful of the veracity of a lot of this book and did not feel that it expanded my knowledge of religion one iota. Why was the book not written by persons of the various faiths and then edited to match the 'Dummies' format rather than wholly written by a Rabbi and a Catholic Priest? The different faiths are not dealt with in separate chapters but mixed up all together: following a thread to get an overall picture of one religion is not particularly easy or obvious.
This book has made a brave attempt to cover a huge subject but the accuracy, detail and layout fail. Still, it would give someone with no knowledge of any faith to get a vague idea of what is what.