Outstanding book! I used this book to study for the DANTES exam “Introduction to World Religions.” I received a “substantially above the minimum ACE recommendation” score, and I highly recommend it to anyone else taking the exam. It provides a very concise and non-biased review of the world’s religions from a mainly historical perspective. The book provides the basic facts of the religions without becoming bogged down in all the dogma commonly found in such books. It will definitely get you a passing score on the exam without requiring a tremendous amount of effort. Well written.

I use this text to teach my college class on World Religions (REL 101). It is a nice little text. As with all works it has some advantages and some disadvantages.

ADVANTAGES:

1. An Instructor’s Manual With Tests is available. I don’t use most of the tests because I prefer class participation and lots of written papers, but the manual helps me keep on target and helps me design questions for class discussion time.

2. A free multimedia cd “The Sacred World” is available to instructors who mass order the text. This is a $60 value and contains 60 short video clips. I like to use these to add accent to class times.

3. The text itself is well written and time tested (This is the 9th edition). It is easy for the student to read. I usually expect them to read the chapters and be prepared for discussion. My lectures bring additional material to the class.

4. All in all these materials are easy to teach from.

DISADVANTAGES:

1. As one can read from previous reviews, the text has limited depth. It must be assumed that the instructor will have the capability to bring additional material to the classroom.

2. The book contains a huge gap in its lack of a chapter on “New Age” religions. This needs to be corrected as any casual trip to a book store will affirm. I usually add the following topics to those which the book covers:

a. Atheistic philosophies

b. The advent of the post modern mind

c. New age religion

I have been using Hopfe’s book since the fourth edition, and I have found it to be very useful and reliable in my classes. The book shows an awareness of the nuances relevant to the various topics (including definition, contra the claim by a previous reviewer who didn’t seem to read past the first page) and Woodward’s updating and website keep the book up to date. Yes, the glossary could be more extensive, but I tend to work from the book and not just within the confines of the book (as I’m sure the other reviewer does as well), so this is not a serious impediment. Many more terms are defined in the text than appear in the glossary. A nice little book.

I have read the chapters on the religions of India (including Islam) and Baha’ism as part of a study abroad course on Indian religions. As a survey of world religions, this may well be the best textbook I’ve seen so far, and I have looked at a few in my day. It is readable, but also thorough. In addition to reviewing the basic information I’ve learned before, I found myself coming across little details that I’d never known (like that Mahavira’s original name was Nataputta Vardhamana, or that the cause of the Buddha’s death was a meal of spoiled pork curry).

The best thing about this book, though, are the passages of primary texts both within and at the end of each chapter. Though sometimes challenging to read, as ancient scripture often is, these selections really captured a lot of the basic character of each faith and supported what was being presented in the chapters.

As an introductory text on world religions, I would definitely recommend this book.

This book was my sole source of of study material for a Religions of the World college class I took, and passed with an A. There is a great breakdown and overview of many of the major, and not so major, religions of the world. As well as religions in general. I can’t compare it to other books dealing with Religions since I have nothing to compare it to. It is easy to read, and easy to find section you may need. It is clearly laid out and well edited. It worked for me and hopefully will work for you as well.

This book is a greater starter book for those wishing to study in the field of theology.

While I many not agree on some issues raised, they are not significant in importance. It does walk you through the basics of each religion and to the best of this books ability to give you insight on its foundations.

What I don’t like about these books like with most textbooks is that the CD that comes with doesn’t work.

The book arrived just in time for my religion class to start in condition stated, glad it went so smoothly.

This edition is fantastic! The read is short enough but filled with plenty of facts and evaluations that make it more than just a passing surface read. I read this book first, in a series of other books I had to take for a class on Major World Religions and I found it very helpful as I worked through deeper books.