Series: The Essential Guides to Religion

Beginning with an overview of Buddhism, this book explores the religion’s origins in northern India and Nepal, through to its development and spread across Asia, to its vibrant and sometimes contradictory present. The book covers key topics in the study of Buddhism, including its rituals and its scriptures, meditation and monasticism, and death and afterlife. The book also includes contemporary...

Who was Jesus Christ? How did Christianity become the world’s largest religion? What do Christians believe? By understanding the answers to these three basic questions, readers will gain a broad overview of what exactly Christianity is, and why it has attracted more people than any other religion in human history. The book explores topics including women in Christianity, politics, the...