Illustrated Dictionary of Religion: Rituals, Beliefs, and Practices From Around the World

Eyewitness Companions

by Philip Wilkinson

O 'Guia ilustrado Zahar de religiões' pretende desvendar as crenças, preceitos morais, festas e mitos - como os ritos tribais de povos antigos como incas, maias e astecas -, passando pelas religiões monoteístas - como o cristianismo, judaísmo e islamismo -, as indianas e as orientais, para finalmente abordar movimentos religiosos - como o rastafarianismo, o bahaísmo e a meditação transcendental. O livro explica o que é a religião, sua relação com doutrinas e mitologia, além do papel dos rituais, seus objetos e locais sagrados. Ao final do volume, apresenta figuras religiosas e divindades nas seções 'Quem é quem em religião?' e 'Quadros' - que permite uma consulta sobre tópicos como - nomes e a representação de cada divindade; os ramos do budismo; os livros da Bíblia; os santos cristãos e os principais papas; movimentos religiosos do século XX.

Genres: Religion, Reference, Nonfiction, History, Unfinished, Philosophy

128 pages, Hardcover

First published November 11, 1999

About the author

Philip Wilkinson (born 1955) is the author of non-fiction books for children and adults. He was educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He worked as an editor prior to becoming an author.

He specializes in works on history, the arts, religion, and architecture and has written over forty titles.

Reviews

[Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

My copy of this book is published under Visual Reference Guides and has a different cover, but I'm fairly certain that it is the same book as the one shown here.

I picked this up on the discount rack at Barnes & Noble a while back, and I'm glad I did. Wilkinson really provides good summaries of all the major world religions, as well as quite a few minor ones. This isn't an in depth look at anything. It's just an overview for novices. But I still managed to learn quite a lot. In addition to an excellent text, there are hundreds of beautiful pictures. The book would almost be worth the price for these alone.

My only real gripe with the book is the section on New Religious Movements. I don't understand Wilkinson's criteria for which religions to include and which to exclude. For example, he includes a section on the relatively tiny (30,000 members) Church Universal and Triumphant. Yet the much larger Church of Scientology is, surprisingly, not even mentioned. I was also surprised the Mormonism was only given a very brief writeup as a subset of Christianity rather than getting its own more lengthy treatment. These criticisms aside, I can highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in learning more about world religions.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are interested in learning about other cultures then I would recomend that you never read this book that I’m doing this review for. Religions written by Philip Wilkinson although most of the information is accurate,is terribly boring. It covers almost every religion that you can possibly think of, some that you might not even know about. There are mostly pictures and small paragraphs describing each religion and what they believe. I found that they don’t go into great detail about any of them, and I found that they left out very important parts in some of the religions. For example, they didn’t cover what the difference between Jehovah's Witness or Amish were, or even the difference between a Mormon and an Apostolic. This bothers me for the reason that even though they are all Christian, each group has a different set of beliefs which I think need to be addressed and explained. I understand that this book would be gigantic and even more boring, but people would be more informed and they could have a better understanding and respect for someone's beliefs. I would recommend this book for someone who wants to have an idea of some different religions, but I would not recommend it to someone who really wants to study it deeply and have a complete understanding of the different beliefs in our world today.

[Chase Parsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Philip Wilkinson writes a handy, well-illustrated primer of the world's religions! I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the different faiths' origins and core beliefs, and the "who's who in religion" section is useful. Somewhat unexpectedly, I came away impressed with the religions on Zoroastrianism (huge emphasis on making the right choices in life), and Sikhism (very accepting of others).

I give the book 3.25/5 stars. I would have like to have read more about extinct religions, more about atheism/non-belief, and most of all, more about the controversial parts of each faith. My #1 complaint is that most of the time, the book provides a textbook-like/neutered version of each faith.

Finally, this book gives the reader a sense of the vastness of religious belief. Perhaps inevitably, thoughts about how logically speaking there can only be one true religion, or else none of them are true, came to mind, which is always unsettling. Still, it is a worthwhile journey to study the different religions, and this book is worth having around.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't say I read this book cover to cover or anything, however I read a lot of it. It just goes to show, we are all more alike than we are different. Many of the largest religions on Earth today share so much of the same values and, well, prophets. I am sorry I am so uneducated but I honestly did not know that Muslims view Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses(and etc.) as prophets just as I do in my religion. When I think of Islam (Muslims) I think of Allah and Muhammad. I was most curious about Islam and Judaism. These two religions get a lot of attention in the world today so it was nice to learn a little background-- such as the difference between Sunni and Shi'i Muslims. Anyway, I don't mean to bore you...so I'll zip it now. I'll just say this was an interesting and informitive read for me, I have always been curious about the worlds religions and how each came to be.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was excellent for a quick reference on religions. I bought it on a whim off the sale shelf at Barnes and Noble and I was quite pleased. The author didn't go into much depth, but instead tried to give a broad scope of the many world religions. He focused on the largest and most prolific religions, but tried to mention as many of the smaller congregations as possible.

The author did an excellent job maintaining an objective air and focused on the positive aspects of the different religions. It was very informative and well-done. Excellent accompanying artwork.

[Lopez Jax · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to give you the basics of what each religion mentioned in this book, is based on. Great pictures of statues and sites as well.

[Mary Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a compact introduction to many of the world religions. It explains clearly what religion is. It gives readers a brief guide to primal, monotheistic, Indian, Eastern religions and new religious movements. Along with these guidelines are great photos of rituals, ceremonies, festivals, places of worship and reverence. Once you get this overview, you can decide if you want to pursue the stud of one or more of the religions introduced here. A great and easy to understand portal to religious knowledge. I read this one section at a time and then thought on it before I went on to the next.

[Orada · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't read this book from cover to cover. But I did look at every page and every picture and read the sections that I was interested in. I think it's a good introduction of major world religions. The pictures are beautiful.

[Eva Deuber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the book but absolutely no mention of the oldest religion Witchcraft. He shows Wicca (which is not the same) in the Directory at the end. Also surprised he doesn’t mention Paganism more as Oxford itself is well known as a very Pagan area along with a lot of the UK.

[Nonya Biznuss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great reference book by Wilkinson, his bibliography points me in the right direction every time as a religious studies major it’s nice to have a citations page that I can refer to in my own works, not to mention his index provides a much needed referencing tool

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loads of unbiased info.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative, factual with out bias, an excellent resource for home and school.

[Petra Drotleff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the German version of the book and it helps me refresh knowledge of the different religions in the world. From what I have read until now I have not learned many new things, but the book fulfills it's promise to be a compact guide to knowledge about the different religions and which promises they hold to mankind.

The book can serve as a starting point for gaining knowledge and forming one's own well-founded, problem-aware and constructive opinion.
However, the problem-awareness and constructivism is something the reader has to deliver from his side. Reading should anyway not be a process of passively copying the written word.

Myself, I am a religious person.

[She Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been able to clarify all major religions practiced today in a way that is not only digestible for the layman's brain, but is also enjoyable to read. It is full of lovely photos and fun facts while still remaining extremely informative

[Erwin Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Philip Wilkinson’s Visual Reference Guides Religions presents religious belief systems by elements combined in each faith. The key features described are: 1) doctrine, a body of basic principles and teachings; 2) mythology—comprises the stories about the gods and the history of religion; 3) concepts of religious experience—the way by which humans encounter the divine; 4) religious institutions—can be a vast global organization like the Catholic Church; 5) ethical content of religion—instructions that tell followers how to live; 6) rituals—the gamut of ceremony from solemn sacrifice to the joyous outpouring at festivals; and 7) sacred objects and places—intimate items, buildings, and places that have spiritual significance.
Wilkinson’s treatments of diverse religious faiths look at some of humanity’s biggest questions. These include: the creation of the world, the meaning of life, the significance of suffering and pain, and the realm of the supernatural. Examined also was how people worship their God or gods, and interpret their scriptures with theological arguments. But with all these faiths their underlying goals are to make life better, have believers live with compassion, and share their love with mankind.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful starter guide to religions across the world. Organization is well done, providing origins and history; core beliefs; ethics, morality, and law; practices and festivals; and branches of each religion. Only one star docked because I would have appreciated some more clear explanation of differences between religions that come across as quite similar.

[Sammy Sutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great photography! This is a wonderful guide to world religions. The author provides a moderate amount of descriptive depth. The manual, also gives a brief explanation about many ceremonies, sacred texts, festivals, and sects. It makes a great desk reference.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 2 out of 5]

A survey of religions of the world to include some emerging religious movements. Some of the charts appear to be inaccurate. The author gives his definition of religion and how religions have similarities.

[Knitting Witch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introductory reference book for use in teaching AP Art History, under the revised curriculum.