In three words - a good book. In more than three words -
The World's Religions attempts and succeeds to represent the core aspects of modern religions - what is important, what is valuable and wise. Each chapter is devoted to one modern religion, with a final chapter on the similarities between them - tying up the whole thing in a nice bow. Care is given to explain what Smith thinks are at the center of a religion - beyond its and individual tenets and practices. It casts light on the best aspects of a religion, while still taking care to remember the flaws. The unity in religion as well as the schisms (such as Sufism or Protestantism) are both found and explained clearly. Throughout brilliant imagery and metaphor is provided. The text is thus very enjoyable to read, and the imagery makes it far easier to understand the topics at hand. The addition of quotations and anecdotes throughout leads to the text becoming far more alive, and again more fun to read.
Overall, the book manages to concisely represent most of the modern religions (though strangely Sikhism is demoted to an appendix) with beautiful imagery and life. Certain sections could have used a little more history - the chapter on Islam skips over the Sunni-Shi'a schism. While Smith's motivation for this is that historical events are not relevant, the actual religious movements that emerged should have been given some attention. I really like the chapter on Hinduism, as it sets up ideas (such as “What People Really Want”) and ideas that come into play later on - the yogas especially. Admittedly, the chapter on Taoism would have done well with a few more pages on “religious Taoism” and “the Taoist vitalizing programs.” The way in which the Judaism was represented was quite clever - it was written in an ordered and comprehensive way.
I would recommend it if you'e interested in religion.
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