Books on World Religions

[Fr.Derek]

Greetings,

I am a Catholic priest in Wisconsin, looking to teach a course to a few gifted high school seniors. They want to learn about World Religions.

I will, of course, be covering key Catholic documents like *Lumen Gentium, Nostra Aetate, *and Dominus Iesus. But I am very unfamiliar with the literature on other world religions. I would appreciate any suggestions that others have for two books:

1. A book that presents different Christian “denominations” objectively and fairly.
2. A book that presents different world religions in a fair and accurate manner.

Any suggestions? [and please explain why].

Thank you!

Fr. Derek

 

[buzzcut]

You could try *A History of the World’s Religions *by David Noss, or for something a bit less academic, *The World’s Religions *by Huston Smith. Both are aimed at college students so may be more detailed than you want.

 

[awalt]

I have the Huston Smith book, I think it would be just right for a gifted high school class…

…and welcome to the forums Fr. Derek, stick around we need you in our community!

 

[Subrosa]

Here’s a website that is a free Catholic study.

amm.org/chss/chss.htm

I haven’t done any of these yet, but I’m finished with school in a week, so I’ll have the time then.

Christ be with you,
Subrosa

 

[Lumen_Gentium]

Hi Father. Welcome to the forum.

I would recommend The Encyclopedia of Christianityby Erwin Fahlbusch, Jan Milic Lochman, John Mbiti, Jaroslav Pelikan, Lukas Vischer, and Geoffrey W. Bromiley.

I would also recommend, of course, The Christian Tradition and The Emergence Of The Catholic Tradition by Jaroslav Jan Pelikan.

For other non-christian religions, I would recommend the encyclopedias like the Britannica.

Stick around.

PAX
Fr. Derek:

Greetings,

I am a Catholic priest in Wisconsin, looking to teach a course to a few gifted high school seniors. They want to learn about World Religions.

I will, of course, be covering key Catholic documents like *Lumen Gentium, Nostra Aetate, *and Dominus Iesus. But I am very unfamiliar with the literature on other world religions. I would appreciate any suggestions that others have for two books:

1. A book that presents different Christian “denominations” objectively and fairly.
2. A book that presents different world religions in a fair and accurate manner.

Any suggestions? [and please explain why].

Thank you!

Fr. Derek

 

[Maranajewell]

Hello Father,

As a study guide on summarizing the beliefs of the differing Christian beliefs or religions can also be found in “Handbook of Denominations in the United States” by Frank S. Mead & Samuel S. Hill. My copy is a tenth edition last published in 1985. I know there is a newer edition of this same book. I recommend it because it summarizes the dates, people and places that these religions were founded and seems to give an unbiased glance at all of them. They even cover Hinduism and Islam, listed under “Muslim” briefly. I hope this helps. - God bless you and thank you for your ministry in Christ’s Church! We’d be hurting without the likes of you! -Maranajewell

 

[RikasAngel]

Hello Father,

There is an informative textbook called Teach Yourself World Faiths by Paul Oliver. It is a small, scholarly book which provides an objective look at 12 of the World’s major religions:

1. Judaism
2. Christianity
3. Islam
4. Hinduism
5. Buddhism
6. Jainism
7. Zorastrianism(Persian Religion)
8. Taoism
9. Shinto
10. Bahaiism
11. Sikhism
12. Cunficianism

Also, if you are looking for an apologetic book that tackles many religions in a smalll text I recommend Stangers at Your Door: How to Respond to Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Mormons, Televangelists, Jimmy Swaggart, Cults, and More by Fr. Albert J. Nevins M.M.