A richly illustrated exploration of all the major religions of the world - their beliefs and practices, and how they have shaped the history of the world.

'Based on massive scholarship and much travel, written with deceptive smoothness and ease, lavishly illustrated, the book is beautiful in every sense. It crowns the literary career of its author.' Church Times
'The author discourses with great lucidity on every topic from animism to Zen ... as an attractive and eminently readable introduction to the extraordinary diversity of the world's religions this book can have few equals.' The Month

Preface; Introduction; Part I. 1. Earliest Religion; 2. South Asia; 3. China; 4. Japan; 5. Southeast Asia; 6. The Pacific; 7. The Americas; 8. The Ancient Near East; 9. Persia and Central Asia; 10. The Greek and Roman World; 11. Classical and Medieval Christianity and Judaism; 12. Classical and Medieval Islam; 13. Classical African Religions; Part II. 14. The Explosion of Europe and the Re-Forming of Christianity; 15. North America; 16. South Asia and Reactions to Colonial Intervention; 17. China and Korea in Modern Times; 18. Modern Southeast Asia; 19. Japan in Modern Times; 20. Islam Passes Through the Shadows; 21. The Colonial Impact in the Pacific; 22. Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union; 23. Africa in the Modern World; 24. Latin America and the Caribbean; 25. Some Final Reflections on Global Religion; Bibliography; Credits; Index.