The World's Religions

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A good survey - Rated
For nearly half a century, Huston Smith has educated people in the East and West about the religions of the world. Being raised in different cultures by parents sensitive to their surrounding afforded Smith a broad, inter-faith and ecumenical mindset from the beginning, rather than one that had to be developed through academic or philosophical persuasion.

When I took a class on Islam as part of my undergraduate degree, the professor recommended this text, 'The Religions of Man', as short but good overview of the world's major religions generally, and I have always appreciated that recommendation. After a brief introduction, entitled 'Points of Departure', Smith looks at the major religions in turn in the following order: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. This is not an alphabetical ordering, nor geographic or chronological ordering. As Smith realised this book would be mostly read in the West, he put Christianity last, not as a slight, nor as a last-shall-be-first, but rather to develop a sensitivity in the text to other religions without the explicit Christian framework dictating the text.

There are several things which this text is NOT, as Smith explains in the introductory chapter. It is not intended as an historical overview of the religions, although that certainly comes into the discussion. It is not intended as a complete or rounded view of the religions - simply exploring the different denominations of Christianity could fill far more pages than this book in whole. Smith has been selective. Drawing from the best features that demonstrate the best values of each religion, he draws together an essay on each. However, this is not a comparative religions text, either. There are few comparisons and contrasts made throughout, permitting each religion to stand on its own merits.

Huston Smith sees the twentieth century in history not as a period that will be remembered for wars or nuclear weapons or Communism and Nazism, but rather as 'the time in which all the peoples of the world first had to take one another seriously.' Looking at the religions of the world and taking them seriously in their own right is an important step, as the religions of the people tend to be more enduring than politics, nation-states, and even ethnicity and general culture.

This book is accessible and written to the level of beginning undergraduates, relatively free of jargon, with terms defined when they are used, and concepts clearly explained. For each section on the major religions, there are suggestions for further reading, although these may now be somewhat out of date. Originally published in 1958, based on a television series Huston Smith conducted on the major religions of the world, it has been updated occasionally with reprinting.

Smith attempts to present the religions as living faiths rather than dry academic subjects. In many respects, he succeeds in this task, which is one of the primary reason the book remains in print and in demand after decades of use.

An elegant, lucid and sympathetic essay(s). - Rated
I approached Smith's work from a position of having known a fair bit about some of the religions he covers but having somehow rejected religion precisely because of what another reviewer terms the dark side of religion.Frankly Smith's book was a revelation to me.True he chooses not to focus upon the negative (what's the point- we know all about that already)his concern rather is with how religions seek to exhalt the human spirit, how they try to inject meaning into our world. Since the religions are often very sophisticated and even successful at this, reading the book is an unusually optimistic experience that avoids 'new age' escapism and does not preach.Undoubtedly there are weaknesses as well as strengths- I know nothing much of Islam and Smith's account didnt really convince me of the how and whys of the extraordinary persuasiveness of Islam for millions. But the strengths overwhelm.The book is a joy.

Good way to know about the good side and wisdom or religions - Rated
Being at a stage of agnosticism, I found myself curious and needing to know more about all the religions, and decided to try Houston Smith's "The World's Religions". Smith includes the world's predominant faiths: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity and the native traditions several continents. If this is your first contact with many of these religions, you will for sure feel lost. Even in the engaging way Smith writes, there is just too much information that is left out, and I often found myself wondering about certain subjects that were mentioned but not explained. My main problem with this book was perhaps the lack of more historical facts, a clear exposure of the main differences between religions, and a better index, which is essential not only for reference but also for people who are having their first contact with religion (For instance, Torah, now what's that anyway? Hmm, no, it's not in the index...hmm).

Not even Smith's summaries at the end of each chapter will leave you with the feeling you finally understand it all, and I wouldn't mind having some graphics clarifying things out a bit better instead of having to take notes all the time - A broader view on the subject. I am perhaps spoiled with my engineering degree in college where complex matters are usually explained with the help of some diagrams, so some people might not miss this aspect.

But don't get me wrong. This book does deliver most of what it promises, and attempts to cover extremely complex matters of heart that are simply impossible to fully present in a book, much of it you will have to feel, not read. It is poor on history, but it's not supposed to have much more on that field (I would prefer a bit more), and also, what might annoy some people is that it is not a balanced account of its subject. You will only get to know about values, attention will be given only to the good parts. If you want a balanced account on religions, including fanaticism, persecution, and those sides that are more of a curse than a blessing, but still are part of it, you will have to find another book. If you want to learn about the main values, (many of which they all share) it's here, but keep in mind that you are not seeing the dark side of the moon.

My objective was precisely learning about the values of each religion, and how they compare to each other. (This book is better with the first problem than with the second). Smith apparently did not want to go too deep into the comparative religions waters, as comparisons probably always end up comparing their worth and are sometimes odious. The price for not showing one religion as superior to others is that you will not get comparisons, or you will get very little of it.

Finally, the differences are sometimes minimal, but sometimes huge. Smith explains most of it clearly, and if you are ready to look at those religions through other's eyes you will understand it better. I found interesting the thoughts on how religions are all basically alike

This book was somewhat of a failure to me, but I guess that it is ultimately impossible to find a book on this issue that will please me or give me the fully clear knowledge I would like, as it is very hard to understand religions, and even more when they are not our own (no matter if you are theist, atheist or agnostic).

Lacking more history, and a clearer explanation of the institutional dimensions of those religions, along with some other subjects, it is still a great book and most of all a good intro to the wisdom those religions share. You will probably find yourself wanting more information, but Houston Smith's work is a good place to start.

Overall, you might end up still a bit confused, but you can still benefit from the wisdom Smith managed to gather in those few pages. I recommend it, it's worth your money.