Experiencing the World's Religions

by Michael Molloy

Experiencing the World’s Religions , 8e helps students understand the practices and beliefs of all the major religions at a time when the world is rife with sectarian conflicts and statistics show that Americans are seeking spiritual experience more than ever. By beginning each chapter with personal encounters with people of diverse faiths in his extensive travels, experienced religious scholar Michael Molloy brings alive how religions shape both individuals and whole cultures. In vivid illustrations, the vast majority of which have been replaced for this new edition, Molloy also delves into the art and architecture and celebrations and rituals of the major religions, which enhances students’ visual learning. This text is written in an exciting and thought-provoking style, like those of the best travel writers, so that students feel as if they are experiencing the world’s religions firsthand.

1288 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 6, 2020

About the author

As a counterpart to his career as a writer of children's books, Michael Molloy is a regular contributor to the Guardian newspaper. He lives in London, England, with his wife, Sandy, their three daughters, Jane, Kate, and Alexandra, and their two dogs, Fred and Daisy.

Reviews

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written; almost poetic. My only complaints are that too much focus was given to art and music. I understand they are an important part of religious expression and history, but for a beginner-level textbook that’s supposed to summarize the barebones of each religion on an introductory basis, all of this detail (as well as the “Personal Stories” written in second-person) were simply too flowery, unnecessary, and frivolous. This could be a matter of taste, however, as I am a fairly “meat and potatoes” kind of gal. It just seemed like, with so much ground to cover with regards to the history, belief systems, philosophies, and terminologies belonging to the many world religions presented, it is simply burdensome, from a student’s perspective, to also present so much painstaking detail about art, music, photography, and travelogues. This is for a class on religion, after all, not art history.

Another complaint I might add is that, as a practitioner (and former practitioner) of some of the religions presented therein, I found the overviews of the faiths with which I am personally familiar to be somewhat arbitrary and inadequate. That said, I am willing to overlook that and celebrate the even-handed and compassionate, respectful approach this overview gave to all of the major world religions that it covered. I especially enjoyed the chapters on Hinduism and Buddhism and, somewhat surprisingly (because as a Westerner and American who didn’t think I had much to learn), Christianity. All in, a well-written overview that covers the basics, even if it does add one too many flourishes.

[Karla · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my textbook for an "Introduction to Western Religions" class in university. It wasn't too bad as a textbook, though the info was WAY too dense for a first year class to be learned in one semester (chapters 1,2,8, 9, 10 and 11 only), and for a textbook that was just published, there's some info in it that's out of date. Ukraine hasn't been referred to as "the Ukraine" in years, and the text refers to Russia and Kiev in the same sentence, when it should be spelled Kyiv and Kyiv has NEVER been a part of Russia. Learn some history besides religious history.

[Kristy Marquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent textbook

[Ali Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. Religion has always fascinated me and it’s been rather fun learning about religions I’ve never even heard of. I have a lot more respect for religion now and glad I took this class.

[caitlinreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written; almost poetic. My only complaints are that too much focus was given to art and music. I understand they are an important part of religious expression and history, but for a beginner-level textbook that's supposed to summarize the barebones of each religion on an introductory basis, all of this detail (as well as the Personal Stories written in second-person) were simply too flowery, unnecessary, and frivolous. This could be a matter of taste, however, as I am a fairly meat-and-potatoes kind of gal. It just seemed like, with so much ground to cover with regards to the history, belief systems, philosophies, and terminologies belonging to the many world religions presented, it is simply burdensome, from a student's perspective, to also present so much painstaking detail about art, music, photography, and travelogues. This is for a class on religion, after all, not art history.

Another complaint I might add is that, as a former practitioner of some of the religions presented therein, I found the overviews of the faiths with which I am personally familiar to be somewhat arbitrary and inadequate. That said, I am willing to overlook that and celebrate the even-handed and compassionate, respectful approach this overview gave to all of the major world religions that it covered. I especially enjoyed the chapters on Hinduism and Buddhism and, somewhat surprisingly (because as a Westerner and American who didn't think I had much to learn), Christianity. All in, a well-written overview that covers the basics, even if it does add one too many flourishes.