The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions

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Summary: An plethora of information regarding world religions!
Review: Being a library student , I am therefore inquisitive by nature and always looking to expand my realm of knowledge; therefore I found The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions by John Westerdale Bowker(Editor) to by very usefull. The book is divided alphabetivcally and the index is well developed if a bit confusing since it is divided by topic. The book is invaluable in its in depth coverage of all kinds of religions. Being an Uniterian Universalist, I found the article written on my religion of choice to be both informative and easy to read. The font chosen for the book is easy to read and the lay out is also practical.

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Summary: Many faces of faithful response
Review: The 'Oxford Dictionary of World Religions' is a concise and comprehensive single-volume reference to the religions, faith systems, and spiritual practises of the world. This dictionary has one of the broadest ranges for any multi-religious guide around. The book contains nearly 13,000 entries, broadly categorised as follows:

- Religions
- Movements, sects, cults
- Scriptural and philosophical text synopses and analyses
- Biographies of individuals
- Sacred sites
- Customs and practises

- Ethics and moral systems
- Themes on general topics

Edited by John Bowker, the text is introduced by an essay which pulls together philosophical, sociological and historical information tying together the concepts of religion. 'A strange thing about religion is that we all know what it is until someone ask us to tell them. As Augustine said of time, "What, then, is time? If no one asks me I know; but if I have to say what it is to one who asks, I know not." That has not stopped people trying to define religion, but their definitions are clearly different.'

Bowker, who has published several books including award winning books on the relationship of God and science, and the meaning of death in religious frameworks, has pulled together a team of over 80 contributors, some of the brightest names in the study of religion. Thus, articles and entries are contributed by experts in their respective fields, edited and cross-referenced by Bowker and his team of eight consultant editors who hold academic posts on three continents.

In an innovative fashion, Bowker has included a topical index in back which shows in an abbreviated and quickly-referenced fashion the interrelationship between topics; for instance, if one is using this text to research Anglicanism, in addition to such well-known entries such as Book of Common Prayer and Lambeth Conferences, one would be directed also to see the articles on:

African Greek Orthodox Church
Cambridge Platonists
Sundar Singh
Order of Ethiopia
Latitudinarianism

This makes for interesting reading. Every now and then, an article will be surprising. If you want to research Wrathful Dieties, there is an article so entitled, which discusses both the specifics of events in scripture (God in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scripture is sometimes shown as a wrathful and vengeful) and the general purpose behind the wrathful imagery (moral seriousness).

Also, if you want to know for certain what a Holy Fool is, here is the place! I confess I sometimes feel like a holy fool (as opposed to being more generally an unholy one), but this book has clarified this for me so that I no longer feel that way. According to the dictionary, holy fools are: 'Figures who subvert prevailing orthodoxy and orthopraxis in order to point to the truth which lies beyond immediate conformity. The holy fool endeavours to express the insistence of all religions that detachment from the standards of the world is the sine qua non of advance into truth.'

Many of the articles contain suggestions for further reading, either specific titles or, more generally, authors of note on the topic in question. This is a great reference source, and one I have referenced frequently both in my studies and my personal researches.

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Summary: The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
Review: The dictionary does its job in explaining religious terms in an up-to-date, clear, and concise manner. The majority of the terms have at the end of the definition a list of books whereby the reader can persue the idea further. All of the broad terms (e.g., death, angels, sin) are broken down into sections for each of the major religions; the major religions themselves are broken down historically. There are a few terms, however, that I would have liked expanded, or were missing, but then again, this is just a general dictionary of religion.

A great reference source if you are interested in studying religion.

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Summary: The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
Review: This book is probably one of the most comprehensive guides I've seen on the subject of the world's religions. It includes incredibly fascinating details on past and present religions. However, it may be too detailed for some.