The HarperCollins Dictionary of Religion
This dictionary has behind it the authority of American Academy of Religion, under whose auspices it was compiled. The 3200-plus articles are written by a team of 327 religion scholars, experts in their respective fields. Although in the introduction this team is called "international," only 32 members are from outside the United States, and over half of those are from Western Europe, the United Kingdom, and Canada. In addition to the standard alphabetically arranged articles on persons, holy days, rituals, deities, scriptures, etc., there are ten major articles dealing with ancient and modern religious traditions and one on the study of religion. Each of the standard articles begins with a clear, concise definition. Extensive cross references tie related articles together, though of the major articles, only "Religions of Antiquity," "New Religions," and "Religions of Traditional Peoples" provide lists of cross references. Though this is generally a thorough and well-written work, it has its shortcomings. The article "Goddess religion" speaks of "womanchurch" congregations but doesn't refer the reader to the article "Woman-church." The Sacred Name doctrine is mentioned without explanation in "Identity Christianity," and there is no article defining the term. Abortion is treated in a half-page article, but homosexuality (an equally controversial subject) is relegated to two brief paragraphs. Nonetheless, the HarperCollins dictionary compares well with other current one-volume dictionaries. Next to A New Dictionary of Religions (LJ 11/15/95), it lacks a bibliography, but it includes guides to pronunciation, a feature absent from the former as well as from Continuum Dictionary of Religion (Continuum, 1994) and Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs and Religions (LJ 11/1/94). Consequently, it is recommended by itself or as a complement to other dictionaries of religion.?Craig W. Beard, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham Lib.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.