8 ms·
Ask HN: What's the best book on religion?
I've become really interested in the history and evolution of religion. I would like to get a basic understanding of all the major religions in the world. What books should I read?
- mmsnberbar66 3y agoNot just religion but maybe Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
- FrustratedMonky 3y agoAgree, not directly religion. But this book did cover a bit about 'shared beliefs' that become 'real', like money, or governments, or religions.
- amusingimpala75 3y agoIf you have the time you could read the religions’ foundational texts (Bible for Christianity, Quran for Islam, etc.) before commentaries on them.
- exegete 3y agoI would also suggest modern translations of the texts
- amusingimpala75 3y agoWell yes that is what I meant, although reading the original language has a different feel to it.
- JasonFruit 3y agoThat is a good way to get some ancient wisdom, and sometimes some incidental history, but it's surprising how little it will inform you about what those religions teach in contemporary practice. I don't think I could read the Bible and derive from it anything like the range of modern Christian belief and practice.
- amusingimpala75 3y agoI’m curious, what specific beliefs come to mind?
- paulryanrogers 3y agoIME seeking wisdom from ancient scriptures is like seeking the time from a broken clock. It'll be right twice a day yet useless since you need better sources, methodology, or reasoning anyway.
- nemosaltat 3y agoAfter the Bible & The Quran, Reza Aslan’s “Zealot” (Christianity) & No god but God (Islam) provide some great historical context.
- antognini 3y agoHaving done this myself (at least for the Bible) I would disagree with this advice. The texts are very old and were written in the context of a very different culture. There is a lot of important context that the authors assume the reader has, and a modern reader simply lacks that context. Without a good commentary a lot of it will just go over your head and some parts will be misinterpreted.
- paulryanrogers 3y agoIndeed studying the context and critiques is likely far more useful than the claptrap most contain. Considering many were written by or about grifters I would also not recommend them.
- arp242 3y agoI don't think that reading scripture is actually all that helpful in understanding the "history and evolution of religion", which is what was asked for. The bible has remained mostly unchanged for 1,600 years or so, but interpretations have varied substantially (also note: there was no "bible" for the first 400 years of Christianity, at last not how we understand it today). Of course, it helps to be familiar with scripture, but there's quite a bit of it and it's quite frankly not a particularly easy read (New Testament is a bit better than the Old). It's not where I would start – understanding the history of religion is more about history than religion.
- colechristensen 3y agoChristianity: The Swerve - Greenblatt The Kingdom - Carrére Both very much in the sense of historical development of the religion.
- tauroid 3y agoThe World's Religions by Huston Smith
- chillycurve 3y agoMy recommendation, as well.
- DasCorCor 3y agoZen Buddhism Selected Writings by DT Suzuki is really good. Seeing Zen as an organic mixture of Indian Hinduism, Buddhism and Chinese Taoism which then arrived on the West Coast of the US is really interesting.
- cafard 3y agoJaroslav Pelikan wrote a five-volume series on the history of Christian doctrine. It is short on sociology, but long on creeds. Really I don't know enough about other religions to make suggestions.
- FrustratedMonky 3y agoThe Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature is a book by Harvard University psychologist and philosopher William James
- CrazyStat 3y agoI like this book but I don't think it's a good fit for what the OP is looking for. James is interested in the religious experiences that individuals have, and writes from a Protestant Christian point of view. It doesn't have much to say about the history or evolution of religion as a general global phenomenon.
- FrustratedMonky 3y agoI guess I took the word evolution to mean he was interested in how religions develop at all, and maybe James has some insight by showing how the human animal has similar religious beliefs around the world. Maybe the reason humans develop religion, is because they all have a neural network that provides a similar 'religious experience'.
- FrustratedMonky 3y agoThough, James is old. So I would also like a more recent book on this line of thought.
- hello_computer 3y agoWilliam James was a Theosophist (no religion higher than truth). Theosophy is another mystery school, like Masonry which preceded it (look into Leadbeater & Olcott, Blavatsky's handlers), and like Anthroposophy, which splintered from it in-turn. These schools seem to have been undertaking the syncretization of all world religions known at the time. Immediately after the fall of the Knights Templar, we get the Masons--mixing the Abrahamic with the Egyptian and Mithraic. Then, as the Hindu and Buddhist doctrines made their ways into western consciousness in the 19th c., these also had to be retconned into the mix, ergo Theosophy. So, of course James would be one to write about such things, but he was standing on the shoulders of giants; a disclosure of received wisdom more than personal insight. And if you are interested in such things, the more recent mystery schools--Theosophy (Blavatsky), Anthroposophy (Steiner), Perennialism (Guenon), Esalen (Huxley, "The Perennial Philosophy")--are all good places to start.
- tiahura 3y agoL Ron Hubbard - Mission Earth
- nprateem 3y agoHa ha, got any more gags like this?
- _hzw 3y agoFor Judaism and Christianity, Yale offers two intro courses (admittedly, they are more about the scriptures, not the religions per se): 1. https://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies/rlst-145 https://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies/rlst-145 2. https://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies/rlst-152 https://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies/rlst-152 They are also available in book form. For Buddhism, A History of Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni to Early Mahayana (インド仏教史) by Akira Hirakawa is the best one I ever read.
- nonameking2026 3y agoWahch the meaning crisis series on youtube by john https://youtu.be/54l8_ewcOlY https://youtu.be/54l8_ewcOlY
- keiferski 3y agoIt’s a huge book and not particularly well-written, but I recommend Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age. It helped clarify a lot of things about the modern Western world and our relationship with religion and secularity.
- verbify 3y ago'How To Read The Bible' by James Kugel (of Harvard University) is great for Judaism and Christianity. It goes through the history of how the text was interpreted - both critically/historically and how religious people interpret it.
- User23 3y agoFor Christianity I highly recommend Saint Augustine’s Confessions. It is very readable and the author’s intellect shines throughout. Edit: I hear very good things about C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity too, but I've never read it. Also there's always Aristotle. Thanks to him we know there is not really a clear line between theology and philosophy. It's fascinating to me that an ancient Greek pagan derived a kind of classical monotheism as being philosophically necessary. One may disagree, but I don't think anyone seriously interested in the subject denies the importance of his contributions. Others have already suggested the various holy and foundational texts as being worth reading. I'm inclined to agree on account of for thousands of years before printing when keeping a book extant was extremely laborious people from every culture chose some writings as being particularly precious. Surely they had what seemed to them at least to be good reason. And casting a broader net, reading the myths and stories of the religions can give you a good feel for how believers see it. I'm mostly familiar with Viking and Greek myth, but there is a rich tradition of mythology in the east too. I've never made a serious study of the Vedic stories, but I've read a few adaptations and there is a lot of interest there too.
- marginalia_nu 3y agoConfessions is a bit of a slog and not very accessible IMO. It's also chock full of bible references that are probably going to fly over your head if you aren't already deep into Christianity.
- capableweb 3y agoI'm a big fan of the "Very Short Introductions" series from Oxford University Press. They're usually brief and gives a wide starting point to a lot of different viewpoints of a subject, useful as a starting point into a topic. Seems there are about 730 books published in the series so far, with a wide range of topics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_Short_Introductions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_Short_Introductions I personally haven't read it, but there is one for religion as well, "Religion: A Very Short Introduction" (9780190064679). Then there are a bunch of them around specific subjects in religion as well, browse the list in the Wikipedia article and you'll find them. I've read maybe ~20 books from the series and all besides two or three have been of utmost quality, so probably this one is at least a good starting point.
- keiferski 3y agoI have had the opposite experience and don’t recommend this series at all. Every book I’ve read from it is either rambling and hard to follow or simply not written for a beginner audience. You’re better off reading the Wikipedia page.
- angrygoat 3y agoI'm an Anglican (Episcopalian) deacon – your question is perhaps slightly problematic, in that "religion" is extremely difficult to define. Westerners (confessional Christians or not) tend to have in mind something that looks a bit like protestant Christianity. Faith traditions intersect with culture and history and everything else. Brent Nongbri's "Before Religion" is good on this; he engages with the whole concept of "religion" and pulls it apart; you mention the idea of evolution of religion, which is itself an idea he critiques. You might find it very interesting. I can't speak for any other major faith, but if you want a thousand-mile in the sky view of the history of Christianity, Alister McGrath's "Christian History" is a decent start. You might find short courses being run at a local university or theological college.
- dangitnotagain 3y agoAnd for Islam, I recommend Karen Armstrong’s “Islam: A Short History”. This book gives context to Muhammad as a Man in addition to the influential religion he adapted/created (for most major religions are adaptations, “modernizations” of what came before.)
- mrwnmonm 3y agoI would add "What is Islam? - by Shahab Ahmed" and "A Culture of Ambiguity - by Thomas Bauer", althought I don't agree with everything they say.
- travisgriggs 3y agoIs this a book that adherents of Islam would be cool with? I ask because… From my experience as a reader and an adherent to a slightly-less-than-mainstream Christian, I’ve observed that books about religion come in three general flavors: - extra extra! Read all about our awesome religion! - have you heard about that religion over there? Read here to learn ingesting tidbits that are inclined to make sure it remains that religion, out of your circle - here’s just an honest attempt to shed light without an agenda, make of it what you will, practitioners and non-adherents are mostly cool with the content My experience is that first two categories dominate; the third is harder to come by. Always interested in that third kind.
- kickaha 3y agoI highly recommend everything by Karen Armstrong. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Armstrong https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Armstrong She has published all kinds of different work: comprehensive surveys, biographies of key figures, memoir, the works. She’s so prolific, clear, and consistent that you can just follow your nose to whichever entry point strikes your fancy.
- rognjen 3y agoSeconded. Especially A History of God.
- jpm_sd 3y ago"The Source" by James Michener is fun historical fiction on the subject. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Source_(novel) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Source_(novel) I'm also a big fan of the Cartoon History of the Universe series. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cartoon_History_of_the_Universe https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cartoon_History_of_the_U...
- PrimeMcFly 3y agoThe God Delusion gives a good overview of many aspects.
- nprateem 3y agoYet despite being a several hundred pages long dedicates barely more than a few sentences to reports of personal religious experiences. This is unforgivable in such a book and discredits it as not serious in my eyes.
- rimliu 3y agoWhy should it? And add a chapter on sleep paralsys? Another one on the effect of LSD?
- nprateem 3y agoStraw man
- PrimeMcFly 3y ago'personal religious experiences' are kind of besides the point of the book. What value would adding in unverifiable anecdotes add?
- nprateem 3y agoWell if it's possible to have an experience that suggests God exists, that'd be relevant in a book about whether God exists
- PrimeMcFly 3y agoNot really, because one person's personal experience can't be verified and is no different from delusion. It's also not what the book is looking at or talking about, and personal experiences don't weigh in on the argument Dawkins is making.
- matthewmorgan 3y agoGod Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens
- charles_f 3y agoIt's not directly answering the question, but I really appreciated "The heart of Christianity", which offers an interesting philosophical analysis of the three "interpretations" of Christianity, and which I would think is applicable to a lot of religions.
- williamdclt 3y agoI was surprised at how interested I got in “the history of god”, which covers the 3 big Abrahamic religions. It’s very informative, I’ve actually learnt a lot of useful things to understand cultural stuff I’m actually encountering often (what does the trinity _means_? Whats do the ancient greeks have to do with Christianity? What’s mysticism? What are Sufis?).
- bibelo 3y agohttps://www.jw.org/en/library/books/Mankinds-Search-for-God/ https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/Mankinds-Search-for-God/
- StopTheWorld 3y agoBart Ehrman has written a number of good books on the history of Christianity. Max Weber's book on Protestantism is good.
- cosentiyes 3y ago"The Sacred and The Profane: The Nature of Religion" by Mircea Eliade and "Eight Theories of Religion" by Daniel Pals aren't focused on a single religion but provide nice overviews on its history and evolution.
- DocTomoe 3y agoKeiji Nishitani: What is religion? Might be „Religion and Nothingness“ in your translation. Nishitani describes religion as a phenomenon from the philosophical Zen Buddhist perspective of the Kyoto School.
- fsloth 3y agoI can warmly recommend Tom Holland's captivating "Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World" for the history of how christianity diverged from judaism and became the dominant religion in the west.
- amerkhalid 3y agoI really liked The Religions Book by DK Publishing. It is not a deep or thorough book. But it covers almost all religious beliefs starting with hunter & gatherers. What I really liked about it was that you can see modern religions evolving from more primitive religions.
- mynegation 3y agoDan McClellan. https://danielomcclellan.wordpress.com/about/ https://danielomcclellan.wordpress.com/about/ I know him not from a book (although he has written one) but from YouTube and TikTok channels. He is mostly talking about Judaism and Christianity but his content is downright awesome!
- account-5 3y agoHardcore Zen. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardcore_Zen https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardcore_Zen
- sillystuff 3y agoBart D. Ehrman has written a lot of interesting books on Christianity (some of his work might be considered controversial to some practitioners). E.g., "Jesus Before the Gospels: How the Earliest Christians Remembered, Changed, and Invented Their Stories of the Savior" "Forgery and Counterforgery: The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics" "Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew" And, many more. I don't know of a commercial book site where I can just link to a search by author: https://libgen.rs/search.php?req=Bart+D.+Ehrman&lg_topic=libgen&open=0&view=simple&res=25&phrase=1&column=author https://libgen.rs/search.php?req=Bart+D.+Ehrman&lg_topic=lib...
- fsiefken 3y agoA, yes that's a topic I've been interested in all my life. ## Frans de Waal. The Bonobo and the Atheist "..evidence for the seeds of ethical behavior in primate societies that further cements the case for the biological origins of human fairness. Interweaving vivid tales from the animal kingdom with thoughtful philosophical analysis, de Waal seeks a bottom-up explanation of morality that emphasizes our connection with animals. In doing so, de Waal explores for the first time the implications of his work for our understanding of modern religion. Whatever the role of religious moral imperatives, he sees it as a "Johnny-come-lately" role that emerged only as an addition to our natural instincts for cooperation and empathy." https://www.amazon.com/Bonobo-Atheist-Search-Humanism-Primates-ebook/dp/B007Q6XKEY/ https://www.amazon.com/Bonobo-Atheist-Search-Humanism-Primat... ## Aleksi Kuokkanen. Constructing Ethical Patterns in Times of Globalization https://brill.com/display/title/20218 https://brill.com/display/title/20218 ## Ken Wilber. Up from Eden. Dated and I find Ken Wilber's views in general to be problematic. Still it's one approach to understand religion. https://www.amazon.com/Up-Eden-Transpersonal-Human-Evolution/dp/0835607313 https://www.amazon.com/Up-Eden-Transpersonal-Human-Evolution... ## Cardinal Walter Kasper. Mercy "Cardinal Walter Kasper examines God’s mercy while holding these devastating facts and questions in hand. He looks at empathy and compassion as a starting point for theological reflection on the topic. He continues by reflecting upon the following: What does it mean to believe in a merciful God? How are divine mercy and divine justice related? How can we speak of a sympathetic―that is, a compassionate―God? Can undeserved woe and divine mercy be brought into harmony with one another? He likewise seeks to address the ethical questions that similarly arise: How can we measure up to the standard of divine mercy in our own actions? What does the message of mercy mean for the practice of the church and how can we cause the central message of God’s mercy to shine in the life of Christians and the church? What does this message mean for a new culture of mercy in our society? These considerations of mercy lead to the fundamental questions of theology. In this work, Kasper combines theological reflection with spiritual, pastoral, and social considerations on this essential topic at a crucial time." https://www.amazon.com/Mercy-Essence-Gospel-Christian-Life/dp/0809106094 https://www.amazon.com/Mercy-Essence-Gospel-Christian-Life/d...
- mgh2 3y agoIf you are approaching this from a technical perspective and are willing to explore hypotheses or try an unconventional hobbyist writer, you can look at the short book at the end of this post: https://trendguardian.medium.com/in-data-we-trust-2978dacc8c22 https://trendguardian.medium.com/in-data-we-trust-2978dacc8c...
- mtalantikite 3y agoFor Buddhism I might recommend Thich Nhat Hanh's "The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching" [1]. He's very clear and is careful to make sure he points out when a particular teaching he's describing might not be emphasized in other schools of Buddhism, but are still there as a foundation across all of them. There are tons of sutras available at Access to Insight [2], which all schools of Buddhism use, but one (the Theravada) uses almost exclusively. Another book that I found really illuminating was Chogyam Trungpa's "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism" [3]. It helps point out how the teachings can be put into practice. [1] https://plumvillage.org/books/the-heart-of-the-buddhas-teaching/ https://plumvillage.org/books/the-heart-of-the-buddhas-teach... [2] https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ [3] https://www.shambhala.com/cutting-through-spiritual-materialism-458.html https://www.shambhala.com/cutting-through-spiritual-material...
- a13o 3y agoFor the westernized-eastern viewpoint, The Book by Alan Watts. It specifically opens by trying to deprogram western religious beliefs
- karaterobot 3y agoI'm not an expert on religion, especially comparative religion. So, I will forego any personal recommendations. But, in general, when looking for books on a topic, one of my first stops is fivebooks.com, where they have experts recommend their favorite books on some topic. I know this is a list of books, plural, rather than "book", as the literal text of your question would imply. Still, here is their page on religion: https://fivebooks.com/category/religion/ https://fivebooks.com/category/religion/
- techload 3y ago"The Golden Bough" - a study in comparative religion, by James George Frazer https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1159648W/The_golden_bough?edition=key%3A/books/OL13504043M https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1159648W/The_golden_bough?ed... LETTER TO A BRAZILIAN MASON - Marcelo Ramos Motta https://parareligion.ch/dplanet/motta/moma2.htm https://parareligion.ch/dplanet/motta/moma2.htm
- ElectronBadger 3y agoRichard Dawkins "The God Delusion"
- p0d 3y agoYou are asking this question on Pentecost Sunday, observed by many Christians. Today we celebrate the arrival of person of The Holy Spirit, who supernaturally empowered Jesus's disciples in Jerusalem, following his death. You can read about this in the book of Acts in the Bible. As you study I would encourage you to pray. If I was interested in learning to drive, I just wouldn't read about it :-)
- pella 3y ago"The Evolution of God" is a 2009 book by Robert Wright. The author attempts to apply the concept of non-zero-sum game theory to religions. excerpts: https://evolutionofgod.net/excerpts_afterword https://evolutionofgod.net/excerpts_afterword video: "The Evolution of God | Robert Wright | Talks at Google" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC4q-dhaTYU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC4q-dhaTYU
- pseudobry 3y agoI'd recommend "The Righteous Mind" by Jonathan Haidt as some pre-work. It's about the psychological foundations of morality and ethics which factor into the formation of religions and rituals, including rituals like college football games.
- pwpw 3y agoFor Christianity, that would be the Screwtape letters by C.S. Lewis. It pokes and prods at the hypocrisy many cary out while revealing the actual theology.
- huijzer 3y agoAlthough it’s not a book, you can listen to Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcast in his Kings of Kings episodes. There, he talks a lot about the struggles (and wars) of the people then and how religion often played a major role. For example, a king would sometimes "safe" a village’s statue of their god which would be like taking their power away from the perspective of the villagers.
- ybbond 3y agoA Little History of the World by Ernst Gombrich, is the best history book that also cover religion that I ever read. It covers the surface od reasonings, dark history, the problems
- MollyRealized 3y agoI might suggest THE SPIRITUAL SEEKER'S GUIDE [1]. I have no idea what made me find it long ago. It lists a very large number of religions, summarizes each briefly, and describes where you can find more if it interests you. [1] - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1880741288/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/1880741288/
- hevisko 3y agoThe Bible (preferably decent literal translations like ESV/NASB/NKJV instead of "dynamic" translations like the NIV/GoodNews/TLT/etc.) PS: there is a good difference between religion and true Christianity, which involves relationship, not religion/religious behavior
- br0od 3y agohttps://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/feuerbach/works/essence/ https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/feuerbach/works/e...
- sacnoradhq 3y agoFocus on history books around events and people, not theological works. The Vedic period. The decline of Rome and rise of Christianity from Judaism. Scandinavia's gradual conversion from paganism to Christianity. Charlemagne, the Great Schism and the Holy Roman Empire. Late Vedic period when Romani left N. India. Dhimmi of the Caliphates and Ottoman Empire. Massacre of the Cathars. First Sichuanese massacre by Kublai Khan. The Mongols' laws regarding faith. Spanish Massacre of Jews in 1391. Martin Luther nailing his theses. Massacre of Han/Sichuanese by Jingxuan. Henry VIII. Bloody Mary. Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias (in Spanish, or an English translation). Dzungar genocide of Tibetans by the Qing. Armenian massacre. Holocaust.
- nprateem 3y agoTangential, but have you considered taking up a practice that might bring your own experience of something beyond yourself, e.g. meditation? Far better to participate than simply spectate.
- drtrq 3y agoThe Quran. Because it answers fundamental questions about religion. In fact, 1/3rd of Quran is about religion(s). And how to think and reflect about it. For Example: - Mankind religion was one. Why the division happened? - How to seek evidence of correct religion and tools of reasoning outside leap of faith. By thinking and reflecting - Who is God? i.e. Chapter 112 - What are the attributes of God and his names? Almost in every verse. - Why it is impossible to have many Gods - logical reasons (Chapter 23) - Guide to find the correct God from many false gods through Abraham journey and his fascinating logical debate with his people (chapter 6). - The reason for sending prophets? - Who was Jesus ? Why he should (be) respect ? What happened to him? Chapter 3,Chapter 6 Chapter 16. - Where and when the corruption in religions happened?
- frankie_t 3y agoI can't recommend something I haven't read myself, but Mircea Eliade's "History of religion" looks good, but it's quite bulky. I was considering it myself, for the same reasons as yours. Maybe someone who read it can elaborate. I'm reading his other work about yoga, and it is quite interesting. I you look for basic basic understanding, maybe "The religions book" could be of help. I'm occasionally reading "The philosophy book" from this series, and while it very brief, I find the format (brisk to the point summaries, graphics) quite good for what it's trying to achieve.
- tpoacher 3y agoThere's something very odd about this question's tone and how it was phased... as if someone is trying their ChatGPT prompts on HN first, hahah. Anyone else get that vibe?
- KrazyHamburger 3y agoThe Quran, away from the religion it self, its authenticity is out of this world, not even gpg can do anything near it.
- Ujjawal_Gupta 3y agoRead them all and find out. But for me, it's Bhagvad Gita
- kleer001 3y ago> history and evolution of History is easy. Evolution? Depends on what you mean. > all the major religions in the world... > basic understanding How much time do you have? This could be an hour a week hobby or a lifetime of study. 1) List all major religions. 2) Look up history of each one. 3) ? 4) Profit. ----- How much have you already tried to do this?
- butlersean 3y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_Western_Philosophy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_Western_Philosoph... Its value is to plot the course of religious inspirations as a longer development with each informing the next.
- hello_computer 3y agoStart with the originals--Torah, Bible, Koran, Vedas, Buddhist Canons, Greco-Roman Mythologies, Avesta, Enûma Eliš--then work your way out toward commentaries, sects, cults, precursors, apocrypha, heresies, schisms, etc. The problem with any condensed "Grand Tour of Religion" is the inevitable editorial bias (i.e. adopting someone else's understanding instead of developing your own).