Religion: History of Religion, Christianity (Worlds Religions Series) by Michael J Stewart.
This book summarizes the most important points in the history of religion and beliefs throughout humanity. It analyzes the six main religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism, as ancient ones and mythology.
At first, he sorts theories by the one that protects the interests of a minority, the one that sees religion as an inherent part of every being and the last one, related to insufficient knowledge.
Then we jump to mythology, where personification takes the main role. The author mentions Mesopotamia, where we find clay tablets written in Akkadian language, registered as the first religious tradition.
The next part of the book, we find the Egyptian and Greek Mythology and totemism. “Immigrants had, together with the natives who happened to be there, accomplished the most complex pre-Christian religion of Europe.” Roman religion is the next point and Norse Mythology, Ancient China, I Ching Hinduism Gautama Buddha and Buddhism Aztec, Mayan, and Incan Religions and Native American. In this chapter, I especially enjoyed how Stewart marks the difference between the different kind of sub-cultures and creates a little insight into them.
We finish the ancient cultures and we land in Protestant faith, Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). Here, the author stops and take his time to explain carefully every one of them. Thank you for that.
An interesting part takes place here, “The World’s Most Destructive Religious Movements / Cults Ever” like Satanism.
I loved the next chapter about absurd religions, it made it fresh, like a break for the reader as the mention of Zoroastrianism as an ancient pilar (3000 years old).
This book is very good structured in little chapters that allow the reader not to get lost. Stewart’s writing is clear and concise. The read gets fresh and quick. He touches all important points without getting lost in infinite details that would make it heavier.
What I appreciate about this author is his capacity of stay impartial in front of all this sensitive material, without judging or giving an opinion, he just develops his knowledge and/or investigations to inform the reader which, I personally find, very valuable in a history writer. Congratulations.