An illustrated introduction to the beliefs, traditions and practices of not only the major world faiths today but also East Asian and modern religions.

This is a colourful, highly informative encyclopedia that manages to be accessible to read and also to accurately convey the main features of the world’s religions. The author, David Self, is well known for his writing in the field of Religious Education.

The book takes the form of a journey, starting with the key question, ‘What is religion?’ and moving on to the gods of Ancient Egypt and Greece, Native religions, before looking at monotheistic beliefs and then the Eastern religions. It wisely ends with a beautiful page on The Golden Rule, showing different children’s faces and quotations from each religion. Although some may be surprised that non religious belief systems like Humanism and atheism are missed out, there are interesting sections on minority faiths such as Zoroastrianism, the Baha’i faith and Jainism. New religious movements are also mentioned. These are faiths that it is often difficult to find information about in text books, but which are now, thanks to national guidance on RE, more often being included in schemes of work. The inclusion of Confucianism and other East Asian beliefs is also positive.

The design of the book is attractive, with many well chosen up-to-date photographs from around the world, including a fascinating one of Chinese Muslims celebrating Eid. The classic image of a boy Buddhist monk is on the cover, although it is eye-catching. I initially thought it was a shame that the British experience was not highlighted more strongly in images, but also recognise that the global diversity pictured was making a strong statement about religion in the world. A box on the left hand side of the page summarises the main learning points, which is helpful. However, one on the right invites the reader to ‘look it up’, listing various chapters, but I was unclear about what the reader was looking up and why. No explanation is given. Maybe I have just missed the point.

This is a recommended book for a library and would be a good gift for a young person. It gives clear and reliable information about faiths in an accessible way, covering everything you would want to know in an encyclopedia of this kind. It also manages to address challenging contemporary issues, such as fundamentalism, religious conflicts and convictions, without watering down the issues. The inclusion of well chosen little stories from the religions to illustrate points also brings the faiths to life, going beyond pure information and facts.

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2008-08-03