What are your thoughts on Patheos.com and Huston Smith's "The World's Religions"?

[Explore]

Patheos.com's Religion Library looks like an amazing hub of information for learning about world religions, and the book The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions, by Huston Smith looks like an interesting book on the underlying philosophy of major world religions, but I'm just wondering what you guys think about these resources. Do they accurately represent their subject matter? Are there inaccuracies you've encountered I should be aware of? Do you recommend other resources with a similar breadth of scope?

 

[sayak83]

Patheos.com's Religion Library looks like an amazing hub of information for learning about world religions, and the book The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions, by Huston Smith looks like an interesting book on the underlying philosophy of major world religions, but I'm just wondering what you guys think about these resources. Do they accurately represent their subject matter? Are there inaccuracies you've encountered I should be aware of? Do you recommend other resources with a similar breadth of scope?

They are both positives in my opinion. Nothing is entirely accurate of course. But they are good enough.

 

[Jumi]

Those world religions books used in university 101 classes should be in every thinkers library so they would have a general idea. I had one by Ninian Smart that gave me some ideas, though it was also wrong on some parts. So if you really want to know of some topic you're gonna have to read specialized books, just like with biology, physics and so on

 

[Explore]

Those world religions books used in university 101 classes should be in every thinkers library so they would have a general idea. I had one by Ninian Smart that gave me some ideas, though it was also wrong on some parts. So if you really want to know of some topic you're gonna have to read specialized books, just like with biology, physics and so on

Yeah, of course. If I want to dive deep into a certain religion, I'll be sure to research books covering those religions specifically. I should have clarified that I was just looking for opinions of those two resources in the context of them being general overviews. Do you know the name of the series of books you're referring to, by the way? Or were you referring to university course books on religion in general?

 

[Jumi]

Yeah, of course. If I want to dive deep into a certain religion, I'll be sure to research books covering those religions specifically. I should have clarified that I was just looking for opinions of those two resources in the context of them being general overviews. Do you know the name of the series of books you're referring to, by the way? Or were you referring to university course books on religion in general?

Oh, sorry. I was referring to basic university course books in religious studies.

I do like patheos sometimes. I've ran into some interesting articles there, not sure about the general level of it, I'd just evaluate on an article by article basis. I've heard good things about Huston Smith's book.

 

[GoodbyeDave]

The classicist Stephanie Budin once lamented that she had read far too many books that sounded scholarly and authoritative but which turned out to be just plain wrong. I know just what she meant!

It is very difficult, perhaps impossible, for one scholar to master a field as wide as the religions of the world. Read such people , but with care. Thus Huston Smith was the son of Methodist missionaries in China, and I remember his account of Chinese religion as being quite biased.