Sourcebook of the World's Religions: An Interfaith Guide to Religion and Spirituality (Paperback)

by Joel Beversluis (Editor) "Since the time of Pliny the Elder, who is reputed to have first used it, the term "Africa" has been a bone of contention because..." (more)
Key Phrases: great ancient religious, contingent genesis, international interfaith organizations, United Nations, New York, Resources Mission (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
This anthology of interfaith articles, essays, and resources has a multifold mission: First off, it is a well-presented primer, introducing readers to 20 of the world's religions and spiritual beliefs--Hinduism, Christianity, African Traditional Religion, Taoism, Wicca, and Nature Spirituality among them. Second, this carefully edited collection offers suggestions for becoming a more unified community, one that tolerates and respects the diversity of spiritual beliefs on the planet. Finally, it addresses the common ground amid all this diversity, such as respect for human rights, environmental responsibility, and creating a culture of peace.

Although the material is heady (e.g., discussions on "Scared Community at the Dawn of the Second Axial Age" and "Objectives of the 1893 World Parliament of Religions"), the essays are mostly written by accessible writers, such as Wayne Teasdale and Thomas Keating. Also, the editor, Joel Beversluis, offers excellent introductions to each submission, grounding readers in plenty of background, context, and insider's information. --Gail Hudson

From Library Journal
Beversluis, editor and publisher of CoNexus Press, edited the first edition of this work (A Sourcebook for Earth's Community of Religions) for participants in the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions. This third edition is the single best resource yet for information on the growing interfaith movement. The volume has four parts: "Who Are We?" introduces each religious tradition; "Becoming a Community of Religions" provides background on the history and purposes of interfaith dialog; "Choosing Our Future" focuses on the role of religion in creating a culture of peace, respect for the environment, and human rights; and "Selected Resources for the Community of Religions" provides Internet and organizational directories, as well as an index of major areas of focus. This volume lacks the occasional useful organization (e.g., the Bah '! International Community's Office for the Environment), but as a source for basic information on religions, international documents articulating a global ethics of cooperation among spiritual traditions, and primary areas of focus for each tradition, it is essential for all academic, public, and theological libraries.DWilliam P. Collins, Library of Congress
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 420 pages
• Publisher: New World Library; Third Edition edition (June 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577311213
• ISBN-13: 978-1577311218
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #529,738 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Content does not match title, July 23, 2001

By	Mark R. Seiler (Chapel Hill, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was somewhat disappointed with this book. I expected a clear comparison & contrast between various religious traditions, with criteria such as history, world populations, view of a god/goddess, moral rules, rituals, texts, etc. Of the 450 pages, less than 100 are dedicated to the descriptions of all the religions. Each tradition is described by a member of that specific religion, so there is little consistency across the chapters that describe the different religions. Each chapter's author determines how he/she describe their tradition, and what information is included. This book was inspired by the Parliament of World Religion meetings, and the majority of the discussion is on the Interfaith movement, and how religions can respond to environmentalism, human rights, and other modern dilemmas. In my opinion, a more accurate title of this book would be "Sourcebook of Interfaith Movement". I recommend Huston Smith's "The World Religions" if you are seeking an introduction to the world religious traditions (tenets, main beliefs, etc.).

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An essential Interfaith "Reference Guide", February 12, 2003

By	Doc Molina "Doc Molina" (Ma, United States) - See all my reviews

The Sourcebook of the World's Religions is a wonderful reference book to have. It's best however, to understand and appreciate its strengths and limitations before you purchase it. The authors attempted to cover the histories and fundamental belief systems of 20+ religions, and to draw a comparison between them. A very difficult goal. I'm not quite sure Beversluis et al. were completely successful, but they sure did make the effort. There was a gracious attempt to be inclusive of both major and minor religions. But in spite of this heart felt effort, the quality of explanations for each religion is inconsistent. Some descriptions of religions (the list was organized alphabetically) - beginning with A for African Traditional Religions, were skimpy, and superficial, without much thought put into describing the history, richness, beauty and poetry of the faith. Next, B for Baha'i left me with a much clearer understanding and appreciation of the faith. On the bright side, this reference guide has a very good index which allows you to locate whatever religion or subject matter of which you may need a simple explanation. But don't expect in depth discussions. They are brief, a little dry, and almost encyclopedic. The source also provides a directory of faith organizations (addresses, phones and internet sites) which in of itself is very valuable. I do agree with a previous reviewer that Huston Smith's The World's Religions is superior if your intention is to actually learn something about the World's major religions - and it's definitely worth the price. Two books assigned to us in a World Religions course at Harvard University were 1- Living Religions and 2- Anthology of Living Religions (Mary and Pat Fisher) Great books but not as affordable. Pragrammatically speaking, this is something all students of religion, and those working in faith based organizations should own as part of their collection of easy to use reference guides - it's just not a good study tool. Having said that, if a simple reference is what you need, it's definitely worth the [money]!

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly outstanding guide to world religions & spirituality., August 4, 2000

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Sourcebook of the World's Religions is an outstanding interfaith guide to religion and spirituality which began as a resource and has grown into its present incarnation: a third enlarged, updated edition which gathers an impressive collection of writings crossing religious traditions. Over twenty religious traditions are presented along with articles, prayers, sacred texts and quotes.