The Story of Religion

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A quick rundown of this product’s key features:

Introduces the history of religious belief and the practice of religion in the world today, illuminating the differences that make each religious group unique and the fundamental beliefs that all groups share.

Our Top Reviews

Reviewer: Reader
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Breathtaking overview of religion
Review: Ironically, the ‘fundies’ …are unlikely to approve of it! …extremely committed ‘fundamentalist’ Christians (or other religion, as in ultra-orthodox Jews, or hardline Muslims or whatever). This book is not made for people whose worldview is already cast in stone- there is no way that they would be able to endorse a book that sums itself up by saying “The fact that in this world there are so many people following so many different paths to God shows that there is no one right way.”This book is a rarity in these times: a book that looks at the big picture, written in a clear, accessible but literate manner. It does not talk down to the reader- precocious 9’s will enjoy it, but so will adults. It is a journey through the evolution of religion, from early concepts of powers beyond our own into increasingly structured and codified faiths. The summaries of the developments of the major world faiths of today are outstanding- they give a clear context and understanding in a very clear, succinct paragraphs. Illustrations in a variety of styles support and augment the text beautifully.There are other books for teaching the specifics of different faiths, for every age range. This book paints a picture of how the religions of today developed, and makes a strong case for tolerance of understanding and respecting other paths to God/ Enlightenment/ Truth etc. Even the back cover quotes pitch in- I initially ignored them, assuming that they were the usual “this is a great book” blurbs, but instead they area fine selection of quotes from people as diverse as Frederick the Great and Thomas Paine.If you are interested in a broader understanding of religion as a part of human society – for yourself or for your children- this is a great place to start. And you may just find some things that lift your faith in the world at the same time. This is a don’t miss book for anybody who can accept the idea that there is more than one right answer.

Reviewer: Leda
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Wish there were more
Review: My four year old has been bringing up God a lot to me, especially since my devoutly Catholic parents came for a visit. I want my son to respect adults so I didn’t want to disparage anything my parents had told him but at the same time, I wanted him to know that some people believe in different things and that it’s okay. Then his camp took him to see the movie, Evan Almighty, and my son came home telling me that he had seen God and that God talked. My boyfriend showed him a picture of Morgan Freeman on the internet and explained that he was an actor pretending to be God. So I’ve been reading this book to my son but we haven’t gotten through the whole thing yet. There just aren’t a lot of books like this for his age. This is a little bit over his head and he’s somewhat bored by it but it is doing what I needed it to do.

Reviewer: SheraLynn
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Frustrated. How much did they get wrong?
Review: I am a Christian, looking for a book to introduce the study of other religions to my children. I was disappointed that the authors missed a major point of Christianity – that we are all sinners, and we only make it to Heaven because Jesus took the punishment for our sins. (Instead the book says that Christians believe sinners go to Hell and you get into Heaven by following God’s law and loving others.) Yes, they got some right – love others, but they missed such a major point, it makes me wonder what important things they got wrong about the other religions.I will probably still use it if I can’t find something better. I’ll just point out these things they missed, and that if we really want to know more about another religion, we should ask someone that practices that religion.

Reviewer: Helen
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great, but be aware of the outdated language.
Review: This book is really great for educating a child on several religions and beliefs systems! It does have some outdated language, but considering it’s over 20 years old I’m looking at it as an opportunity to have those conversations with my daughter.

Reviewer: ReviewReader
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Wonderful, non-biased religion knowledge for Children
Review: As a secular homeschooler, I was pleased to find this recommendation in a secular Charlotte Mason group. It gives short, concise religious explanations on beliefs, origins and practices for major world religions. I would highly recommend for the 6+ crowd

Reviewer: P. W. Tucker
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great intro to religion book
Review: As a mom, I had no idea where to begin with my child when it comes to religion as I am spiritual and not aligned to any particular practice. I found this book a great comparative religion book- it explained what many of his friends at school believe and provided a background for many religions so that my son has the opportunity to learn more. I am glad I got the book.

Reviewer: Tasha Altemeier
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Five Stars
Review: Great book in excellent condition!

Reviewer: christina polston
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Three Stars
Review: This is an old library book. R u allowed to sell this?

Reviewer: D. Wilbur
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I am a teacher and bought this to help with RE lessons for my year 3/4 class. Very impressed indeed and feel every child (and indeed many adults) should see a copy to help them understand what makes people tick.