The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions [Hardcover]

Huston Smith (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0844665282 | ISBN-13: 978-0844665283 | Publication Date: June 1990

Originally titled The Religions of Man, this completely revised and updated edition of Smith′s masterpiece, now with an engaging new foreword, explores the essential elements and teachings of the world′s predominant faiths, including:

Hinduism,

Buddhism,

Confucianism,

Taoism,

Islam,

Judaism,

Christianity,

and the native traditions of the Americas, Australia, Africa, and Oceania.

Emphasising the inner -- rather than institutional -- dimensions 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 text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The World's Religions, by Huston Smith, has been a standard introduction to its eponymous subject since its first publication in 1958. Smith writes humbly, forswearing judgment on the validity of world religions. His introduction asks, "How does it all sound from above? Like bedlam, or do the strains blend in strange, ethereal harmony? ... We cannot know. All we can do is try to listen carefully and with full attention to each voice in turn as it addresses the divine. Such listening defines the purpose of this book." His criteria for inclusion and analysis of religions in this book are "relevance to the modern mind" and "universality," and his interest in each religion is more concerned with its principles than its context. Therefore, he avoids cataloging the horrors and crimes of which religions have been accused, and he attempts to show each "at their best." Yet The World's Religions is no pollyannaish romp: "It is about religion alive," Huston writes. "It calls the soul to the highest adventure it can undertake, a proposed journey across the jungles, peaks, and deserts of the human spirit. The call is to confront reality." And by translating the voices of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Christianity, and Judaism, among others, Smith has amplified the divine call for generations of readers. --Michael Joseph Gross --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Huston Smith's classic on the world's religions has justifiably become as venerable as the old texts he studies. . . . I urge all readers to make it the core of their home library." -- Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul and The Soul of Sex

"Intelligent, clearly written...reveals the spirit of each faith." -- New York Times

"Intelligent, clearly written...reveals the spirit of each faith." -- -- New York Times

"Intelligent, clearly written...reveals the spirit of each faith." -- -- The New York Times Book Review

"The best one-volume book on world religions remains Huston Smith's THE WORLD RELIGIONS." -- Library Journal

"This is not only the best book of its kind, there is nothing else in its league." -- -- Stephen Mitchell

"This is one book on world religions I can't do without. I return to it often--and always with reward." -- Bill Moyers

"This is one book on world religions I can't do without. I return to it often--and always with reward." -- -- Bill Moyers

"Huston Smith's classic on the world's religions has justifiably become as venerable as the old texts he studies. I'm thrilled to see it enjoying yet another incarnation. It is more important today than it was in its first printing, and I urge everyone to make it the core of their home library." -- Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul and The Soul of Sex

"Intelligent, clearly written...reveals the spirit of each faith." -- The New York Times Book Review

"This is not only the best book of its kind, there is nothing else in its league." -- Stephen Mitchell --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Peter Smith Pub Inc (June 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0844665282
• ISBN-13: 978-0844665283
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (124 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,457,811 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Huston Cummings Smith (born May 31, 1919) is among the preeminent religious studies scholars in the United States. His work, The Religions of Man (later revised and retitled The World's Religions), is a classic in the field, with over two million copies sold, and it remains a common introduction to comparative religion.

Smith was born in Soochow, China, to Methodist missionaries and spent his first 17 years there. He taught at the Universities of Colorado and Denver from 1944 to 1947, moved to Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, for the next 10 years, and then served as professor of Philosophy at MIT from 1958 to 1973. While at MIT, he participated in some of the experiments with entheogens that professor Timothy Leary conducted at Harvard University. Smith then moved to Syracuse University, where he was Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Philosophy until his retirement in 1983 and current emeritus status. He now lives in the Berkeley, California, area where he is Visiting Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

During his career, Smith not only studied but also practiced Vedanta Hinduism, Zen Buddhism (under Goto Zuigan), and Sufism for over 10 years each. He is a notable autodidact.

As a young man, of his own volition after suddenly turning to mysticism, Smith set out to meet with then-famous author Gerald Heard. Heard responded to Smith's letter, invited him to Trabuco College (later donated as the Ramakrishna Monastery) in Southern California, and then sent him off to meet the legendary Aldous Huxley. So began Smith's experimentation with meditation and his association with the Vedanta Society in Saint Louis under the auspices of Swami Satprakashananda of the Ramakrishna order.

Via the connection with Heard and Huxley, Smith eventually experimented with Timothy Leary and others at the Center for Personality Research, of which Leary was research professor. The experience and history of that era are captured somewhat in Smith's book Cleansing the Doors of Perception. In this period, Smith joined in on the Harvard Project as well, in an attempt to raise spiritual awareness through entheogenic plants.

He has been a friend of the XIVth Dalai Lama for more than 40 years, and has met and talked to some of the great figures of the century, from Eleanor Roosevelt to Thomas Merton.

Smith developed an interest in the Traditionalist School formulated by Rene Guenon and Ananda Coomaraswamy. This interest has become a continuing thread in all his writings.

In 1996 Bill Moyers devoted a five-part PBS special to Smith's life and work: The Wisdom of Faith with Huston Smith. Smith has also produced three series for public television: The Religions of Man, The Search for America, and (with Arthur Compton) Science and Human Responsibility.

His films on Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism, and Sufism have all won awards at international film festivals. His latest DVD release is The Roots of Fundamentalism--A Conversation with Huston Smith and Phil Cousineau.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

103 of 106 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant synopsis of the best of the world's religions, June 7, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions (Paperback)

Mr. Smith extracts from the world's great religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity - that which is ideal. He intentionally does not delve into the minutiae of religious history or the many ways in which religion has been used as a vehicle for evil. As he explains, "The empowering theological and metaphysical truths of the world's religions are . . . inspired. Institutions - religious institutions emphatically included - are another story. . . ."

The book thus sets forth in careful, clear prose and clever detail the very best of seven influential world religions - their core beliefs, their inherent beauty. Mr. Smith is a genius with an analogy, and unfamiliar, or arguably bizarre, religious abstractions are summed up and made concrete in the stroke of a pen. Take, for example, the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. "It holds that while God is fully one, God is also three. The latter half of this claim leads Jews and Muslims to wonder if Christians are truly monotheists, but Christians are confident that they are. As water, ice, and steam, H2O ssumes states that are liquid, solid, and gaseous while retaining its chemical identity."

This brilliant book is a "must read" for everyone, of every religious persuasion. The respect it instills for diverse religious beliefs, and the manner in which the reader slowly comes to realize how much seemingly incompatable religious systems have in common, is nothing less than profound.

-- Christine Klein

86 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent reference book for laymen with great insights, November 30, 1998

By 

LANCE R LINDLEY "hagakure" (Yokosuka, Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Religions of Man (Mass Market Paperback)

Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism... Huston Smith handles each of these religions with such care and understanding one truly believes they are reading the words of a believer of each and not an outside observer. This book is wonderful for the numerous proverbs and wisdom of each religion alone, but it is an invaluable reference for anyone who wants a broader understanding of world religion. Each religion is covered simply and broadly, but with enough depth and feeling to give a reader a true sense of understanding. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

65 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful read, but hard to understand, November 29, 1999

By 

Matt Morrissette (Manchester, NH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions (Paperback)

This is the text book used at the high school I currently attend for the World Religion class. It is much too complex for the average high school junior so I don't know why the school chose it. I however found the book to be a remarkable literary masterpiece. It uses vivid language and broad ideas to portray many of the worlds great religions. It does not give a full detail of all the religions but only a general description and some highlight of dogma. The author limits the book to the main sect of each religion and does not go into small segregations (i.e. Christianity not Baptist). This 17 y/o high school junior believes that this book is a must read for any person looking for a faith to fit your beliefs or just anyone curious about the beliefs of other people in the world.