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This dictionary has behind it the authority of American Academy of Religion, under whose auspices it was compiled. The 3200-plus articles are written by a team of 327 religion scholars, experts in their respective fields. Although in the introduction this team is called "international," only 32 members are from outside the United States, and over half of those are from Western Europe, the United Kingdom, and Canada. In addition to the standard alphabetically arranged articles on persons, holy days, rituals, deities, scriptures, etc., there are ten major articles dealing with ancient and modern religious traditions and one on the study of religion. Each of the standard articles begins with a clear, concise definition. Extensive cross references tie related articles together, though of the major articles, only "Religions of Antiquity," "New Religions," and "Religions of Traditional Peoples" provide lists of cross references. Though this is generally a thorough and well-written work, it has its shortcomings. The article "Goddess religion" speaks of "womanchurch" congregations but doesn't refer the reader to the article "Woman-church." The Sacred Name doctrine is mentioned without explanation in "Identity Christianity," and there is no article defining the term. Abortion is treated in a half-page article, but homosexuality (an equally controversial subject) is relegated to two brief paragraphs. Nonetheless, the HarperCollins dictionary compares well with other current one-volume dictionaries. Next to A New Dictionary of Religions (LJ 11/15/95), it lacks a bibliography, but it includes guides to pronunciation, a feature absent from the former as well as from Continuum Dictionary of Religion (Continuum, 1994) and Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs and Religions (LJ 11/1/94). Consequently, it is recommended by itself or as a complement to other dictionaries of religion.?Craig W. Beard, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham Lib.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
With the collaboration of the American Academy of Religion, an international team of scholars contributed more than 3,200 articles to this book. While entries are not signed, the forematter lists more than 300 contributed articles as well as the area editors who comprise the editorial board. The preface notes that the dictionary "seeks to expand public understanding of religion by going beyond the usual concentration on major world religions" ; thus the scope includes all geographic areas from the Paleolithic era to present times.
While the basic organization is that of a dictionary with concise entries on specific topics such as names, rituals, places, and festivals and more extensive entries for such topics as Mysticism or Japanese Folk Religion, there are also 11 long feature articles about major world religions, broad categories of religion such as the religions of antiquity, and an essay on the academic study of religion. Maps and time lines are included where appropriate. The broad essays on historical religious traditions are complemented by entries on such central topics as art and architecture, authoritative texts, the festal cycle, etc. Thus the broad essay on Islam is related to such articles as Islam (ethics) and Islam (life cycle).
The preface notes that the dictionary devotes significant attention to religions of traditional peoples, extinct religions, and new religious movements. While not as extensive as America's Alternative Religions (SUNY Press, 1995) for North America, there is indeed fairly comprehensive coverage of new religious movements throughout the world. While mainstream Christianity is well represented in the dictionary, it seems to be assumed that information on this faith is readily available in other resources. For example, two lines are given to the concept Guardian Angel while Guardian Spirit in Native American traditions is 38 lines. Articles that compare concepts in religions are useful, but once again emphasis is often on non-Christian religions. Under Death, for example, the concept is discussed only in terms of Islam and Japanese Buddhism.
The dictionary tries to overcome the fragmentation inherent in such a format with a cross-referencing system that is only partially effective. There are no internal cross-references indicating that names or concepts mentioned in articles also have separate entries. Under Pope there is only a terse three-line definition and no cross-reference to longer treatment under Papacy. There are no bibliographies, but there is a wealth of information about scholarly sources and major authors within the entries.
This is a mass of information for the price. For large libraries it is no substitute for the 16-volume Encyclopedia of Religion (Macmillan, 1987), but the one-volume format is handy for reference work, and college students will find it a resource for information about religions not familiar in the West. The pronunciation indications provided are helpful. The level of writing is scholarly and occasionally not accessible to even the educated lay reader. Public and academic libraries will definitely want to purchase; high-school libraries will not find it as useful.
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