The Birth of the Gods: The Origin of Primitive Beliefs

by Guy E. Swanson

Analyzes the social structure of 50 primitive peoples to show how it determined the form of their religious worship

Genres: Religion, Sociology

272 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 1960

Reviews

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok, but to be honest, there wasn't much to read about each civilization and their religion, more like descriptive info and on the surface of what's what. A nice read but overall wanted more out of it for the price, especially on a book that makes you half the time double check facts and wikipedia to cross what's true and what's not, realizing maybe wikipedia articles are more interesting to read while having spend half the time reading on wiki while searching info mentioned in the book.

Oh well..

[Rebecca Renner · Rating 1 out of 5]

To quote Shakespeare, I found this book "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

It's remarkable to get a glimpse into the old world of anthropology when it was acceptable to write about groups of people without seeing or talking to them, using no primary sources while throwing around self-congratulatory phrases like "empirical evidence." It's a pleasure to see this book is out of print.

[Amberly Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting analysis on primitive societies in relation to what we know of their religious practices. Swanson uses a good mix of statistical analysis and easy speak for a quick, easy read. Definitely undeserving of the poor reviews left so I had to take matters into my own hands.