I'm not great with the Title-thing... :sorry1:
Basically, I am looking for some recommendations of interesting books which cover the topic of religion, but are in no way religious texts. History books or similar, I suppose.
I'll give a couple of examples of books I have found interesting which feature religion as an important or central theme, but which are not religious texts.
1. God and the Gun (Martin Dillon)
Looks at how Catholic and Protestant paramilitaries reconciled violence with faith, and interviews men of God in terms of the position the conflict placed them in, and their role in it.
2. Millenium (Tom Holland) - also released as The Forge of Christendom
Examines the time 100 years prior to and post 1000 CE, and focuses on Western Europe in this period. Religion plays a central role, in particular around the belief that the year 1000 might mark the End of Days.
3. The Shadow of the Sword (Tom Holland)
Looks at the origins of Christian and Islamic religion, and the decline of the Roman and Persian empires in the same period. Might touch on Jewish faith as well, but I've leant out the book, and I honestly can't remember...!
4. The History of Christianity (Diarmaid MacCulloch)
Looks at the foundation and growth of Christianity, and attempts to encompass the entirety of the Christian faith.
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In terms of their depth, the first three listed are pretty easy reads. God and the Gun is fairly anecdotal in nature, but relies on firsthand interviews, and is quite frankly fascinating to me. The two Tom Holland books can be fairly described as narrative histories, rather than academic histories. They provide a very approachable introduction to their topics, and are interesting. I think anything taken from them in terms of knowledge needs to be corroborated from other sources, though. And the History of Christianity is a much more 'serious' attempt at history, I suppose. It's well written, I think, but the scope of the book is actually much harder to manage, and it is less narrative in nature by far than the other three.
Basically, I am looking for some recommendations of interesting books which cover the topic of religion, but are in no way religious texts. History books or similar, I suppose.
I'll give a couple of examples of books I have found interesting which feature religion as an important or central theme, but which are not religious texts.
1. God and the Gun (Martin Dillon)
Looks at how Catholic and Protestant paramilitaries reconciled violence with faith, and interviews men of God in terms of the position the conflict placed them in, and their role in it.
2. Millenium (Tom Holland) - also released as The Forge of Christendom
Examines the time 100 years prior to and post 1000 CE, and focuses on Western Europe in this period. Religion plays a central role, in particular around the belief that the year 1000 might mark the End of Days.
3. The Shadow of the Sword (Tom Holland)
Looks at the origins of Christian and Islamic religion, and the decline of the Roman and Persian empires in the same period. Might touch on Jewish faith as well, but I've leant out the book, and I honestly can't remember...!
4. The History of Christianity (Diarmaid MacCulloch)
Looks at the foundation and growth of Christianity, and attempts to encompass the entirety of the Christian faith.
--------------------------------------------------------------
In terms of their depth, the first three listed are pretty easy reads. God and the Gun is fairly anecdotal in nature, but relies on firsthand interviews, and is quite frankly fascinating to me. The two Tom Holland books can be fairly described as narrative histories, rather than academic histories. They provide a very approachable introduction to their topics, and are interesting. I think anything taken from them in terms of knowledge needs to be corroborated from other sources, though. And the History of Christianity is a much more 'serious' attempt at history, I suppose. It's well written, I think, but the scope of the book is actually much harder to manage, and it is less narrative in nature by far than the other three.