The Sacred Paths of the West

by Theodore M. Ludwig

For courses in Religions of the World, History of Religions, Comparative Religion, and Introduction to Religious Studies in departments of Religion, Religious Studies, Theology, and Philosophy.Unique in approach, this text combines an historical-descriptive presentation of individual religions with a comparative-thematic approach. It begins with a discussion of the basic human questions and concerns relating to religion--e.g., origin and identity, ultimate reality, human nature, and the good life--and then use these essential concepts to help describe the beliefs, practices, and historical development of each religion. As the work of a single scholar--much of it based on original research--this book offers a consistency and depth missing in many of the texts in this field.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Textbooks

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Reyna]

Clear and concise over view. Broken down for everyone and anyone to understand.

[Joshua Duffy]

Fantastic overview of the Western Religions. Although I do not take Ludwig as a 'religious' man, I detect absolutely no bias in his writing; which is an enormous compliment. I learned more about Judaism and Islam in this one than from any other source. Crucial reading for anyone looking for systematic information on the religions of the west.

[L.D.]

I learned a lot from this book, but it was very broad and sometimes over generalized. However, for it's purpose of giving a quick understanding of Western religions it worked wonderfully. I'll probably still use it as a reference for other classes.