Author: John T. Catoir 
ISBN: 0-8189-0640-5 
Paperback: xxviii + 132 pp. 
Price: $12.95 + shipping 

"The book succinctly introduces ancient religions, especially Egyptian, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Far Eastern traditions (Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism). Helpful features are its inclusion of texts from the various religious literatures in non-scholarly translation and 'questions to think about' at the end of each chapter. Suitable for teacher background for elementary grades and for high school and general parish libraries, as a beginning text hope fully leading to further studies about and dialogue with followers of these great, living faiths." Eugene J. Fisher, Associate Director, Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC 20017

"Fr. Catoir, former director of the Christophers, is widely known through his syndicated television and radio programs, St. Jude Media Ministry, and books. He taught the history of religions at the college level for four years. His introduction to this revised editoin of his 1992 introduction to world religions begins with the Golden Rule, prayer, and some suggestions on learning about religions. Then he treats the beliefs and practices of prehistoric religion, ancient Egypt, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and the religions of the Far East. Each chapter concludes with 'Questions to Think About.'" Theology Digest Book Survey, Spring 2005

"Very useful book by the director of the Christophers, 'provides a brief summary of the beliefs of Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Judaism, Shintoism, Taoism and other major religions in the hope that, by shedding light on them, greater tolerance of their adherents will ensue.'" Religious Life Review, Dublin

This is a revised edition of an earlier book by Fr. Catoir, long-time director of the Christopher Movement. He wrote it out of a conviction that understanding the religious views of other peoples would enhance his readers' understanding of the contemporary world, and also out of a hope that this brief work would lead his readers to study the subject more deeply. The book's eight chapters treat prehistoric religion, the religion of ancient Egypt, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and the religions of the Far East (Confucianism, Taoism, and Shintoism).Two strong points of the work are the fairly extensive quotations from the sacred literature of these traditions and the reflection/discussion questions at the end of each chapter. The latter could be especially helpful in adult education courses for persons just get ting acquainted with other religions. However, there are also some serious lacunae, including the following three: In the chapter on Christianity, there is no more than the mere mention of Eastern Orthodoxy, even though Orthodoxy is a major part of world Christianity and one that may not be very familiar to the intended readers of the book. When discussing Judaism, Catoir mentions the crucial importance of the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem but gives no indication of when this occurred or by whom it was done. In the chapter on Hinduism, he properly deals at one point with the Bhagavad Gita and notes that it addresses the issue of the rightness of killing others in warfare, but he gives not the slightest indication of how the Gita tries to resolve this issue. --James A. Wiseman, OSB / St. Anselm's Abbey, Washington, DC 20017 in Cistercian Studies Quarterly 31.4