The Religions Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained (DK Big Ideas)

This book gives a clear, comprehensive overview of most major religions, making it an excellent reference for both kids and adults. We’ve found it especially helpful for homeschooling perfect for answering questions and sparking deeper conversations. Before we travel, we love using it to learn a little more about the culture we’ll be visiting. Easy to use, well-organized, and a wonderful resource to have on the shelf!

This is already my fourth, after Philosphy, Politics and Economics. And I hope, not the last. Mathematics is already waiting, whatever still... The DK-concept, manner, genre of straightforward presenting of big ideas in ordinary language greatly pleases me. The secret weapon is the huge amount, myriad, thousands of links, with which the contents of the book is tied together to a tight and compact bundle of knowledge in a way completely inimaginable in a paperbook. This is a true revolution in textbooks. As an old text book author, my fingers are itching for transforming one or why not all of my several text book texts to this format, particularly as none of them has been published as ebook, yet. In this book all the big religions Buddhism, Hindjism, Christianism, Islam are thoroughly presented as well as essentially perhaps hundred smaller variants, all in a matter of fact spirit without praising or mitigating any higher or less than others. Valuation is left to reader. I really made a list of my three top favorites and one disfavorite, one of them not known to me at all before reading this book. Very, very many aspects are considered, moral, practical, historical, social and others. It is astonishing how small details may be decisive in the essence of a religion. On the other hand, some keep a watertight, airtight hardcore of doctrine, some are dynamic and as such a chain of deliberate changes of doctrines and practice. Think about the Christianity from war-fighting past to the peaceful present. Or about the relationship of the religion to human scientific knowledge. The history is full of abrupt or gradual upsidedowns. Interesting pilgrimages, largely descripted in this book. No question of other than full five stars.

Great introduction to many different religions. It goes through 1-4 page summaries on a few dozen ancient religions, 5 long sections on 5 major religions , and then more quick summaries on modern religions. I learned a lot. From what I know it was pretty fair and high level. Focused on the religion history, main teachings, development of religion, and the differing sects of the religion. Did not focus on the culture surrounding the religion. I would recommend this to anyone looking to learn about other religions.

Just received the book, “The Religions Book”, “ Big ideas Simply Explained”, and after a cursory review I would give the book a B-. The book gives a synopsis of various religions both past and present. The actual issue that I ran into was on page 334. While the paragraph at the beginning of the page appears concise, the material afterwards about The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches is a bit misleading because of the language/grammar used. The author(s) state that the Roman Catholic Church originates during the 1st century CE, and that the Eastern Orthodox Churches originate from 1054. Not so. This is technically not correct. Both Churches stem from Christ and His Apostles during the 1st century. In the beginning there was only one Church and that was the Christian Church. The Churches were; the Church of the West (Substantially centered in Rome) and the Church of the East centered in Constantinople. But even before we can speak of “centers”, of the entire Christian Church, the Church was united through Faith and the Ecumenical Counsels until the Great Schism of 1054. Until that time the Christian Church was fully Catholic (Catholic means Universal), which the Church was considered universal as to one teaching. Why was there a Schism? Various reasons developed between the East and Western Church. One was the use of statues used within the Western Church. The other was the use of Icons by the Eastern Church. The Schism also developed over the use of the Church of the West (Rome) adding the Filioque to the “Creed”. The Creed is and still remains within the Eastern Orthodox Church unchanged and a statement of Faith. The term Filioque meaning “and through the Son” was not used in the original Creed developed during the 1st and 2nd Ecumenical Counsels but added by the Church of the West. One my wonder why would simply changing a single short line in the Creed be so important? The answer is more important than just a few simple words. Adding the Filioque to the Creed posed a very real problem. The Filioque, and the part of the Creed where it was inserted, addresses the how the Holy Spirit proceeds from within the Triune God head of Christianity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In inserting the Filioque stating the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father (and the Son) causes a major problem within the Christian Church. The issue stems from the baptism of Christ, by John the Baptist. The Holy Spirit descended upon Christ, in the form of a dove, while he was being baptized in the Jordan River by John The Baptist. If the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father “and the Son”, this would mean that Christ sent the Holy Spirit unto Himself, which would negate the baptism of Christ. Additionally the first two Holy Ecumenical Councils of the ENTIRE Christian Church composed the Creed and it was agreed by the entire Christian Church, both Eastern and Western, that the Creed would not be changed under any circumstance. The Creed is a statement of Christian Faith for the Entire Christian Church. Getting back to the differentiation on page 334. Both the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church have the same origins within the time line beginning with Christ and His Apostles. So I feel that the book overall may be in question, or slanted one way or the other, for the different religions that are addressed. I will attempt to update this review in the future.

I have been hearing so much about religions recently with all of the craziness going on in America's current political insanity. I was looking for a reference that could objectively give an overview and history of the World's religions. This book is perfect. Easy to read, simply laid out. Gives enough backround for a basiic understanding which is a good starting point. I think it's important to know the truth and not just believe what someone says especially when they give a distorted view to suit their own purposes. Also of note , I bought the kindle version and it was perfect. Some of the reviews said the kindle version was badly laid out and very hard to read but mine was great. The pages were full size and everything worked just fine. I would recommend this book as a basic reference.

I found this book to be well organized and easy to follow. There was a lot of new information for me so I expect to read it a second time.

This series is excellent. This one is good for understanding religions around the world. Well written with simple illustrations.

this book is 1000000% worth it. super informative and v easy to follow

Really good book that gives enough depth to individual religions to help understand their ethos without overwhelming the reader. The book is written in an easily understood style that allows the reader to get a concise overview to peek his/her interest or use it as a springboard to dive further into the subject. All the books in this series are of high quality with easy to read print. Highly recommended for all ages from early teen to older people.

Bu eserin Türkçesini daha önce edinmiştim, İngilizcesini de kitaplığımıza ekledim.

Arrived on time. From first look book is very informative.