Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs and Religions - Softcover

Most of the alphabetically arranged entries are 100-250 words in length. They cover people, places, ideas, deities, and rituals of 29 religions or groups of religions (e.g., Native American religions, secularism). Cross-references are indicated at the ends of articles by a triangle. Line drawings illustrate some entries. Pronunciation is given for most foreign terms. The writing is to the point and quite readable.

There are three appendixes--population distribution by religion in various countries, festivals by religion using both the Gregorian calendar and that for the particular culture, and a list of entries by religion or concept (e.g., Study of Religion). A quick perusal of this list shows that Christianity has more entries than any other religion.

In reading the entries, the Board found some interesting anomalies that reflect the limitations of the scope of the dictionary. The general entry Festival is followed by entries for Ancient Near East, Christian, Chinese and Greek festivals, but none for Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, or Muslim festivals (these are, however, represented in the appendix). There is the entry Holy War, Jewish, but none for Muslim or even holy wars in general, and no cross-references to Jihad, the entry that describes the Muslim concept of holy war, nor Crusades. The entry Holocaust speaks only of its use for the genocide of the Jews in World War II, not its biblical meaning, which would explain why it is used in its current context.

This work is similar to The Facts On File Dictionary of Religions (1985). In spite of the criticisms above, Larousse has given religion reference collections a title well worth considering, especially by small public and school libraries, for its affordability and usefulness.