Religion / History of Religions

Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy

by John Julius Norwich

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

In a chronicle that captures nearly two thousand years of inspiration and intrigue, John Julius Norwich recounts in riveting detail the histories of the most significant popes and...

Eastertide: Prayers for Lent Through Easter from The Divine Hours

by Phyllis Tickle

"A wise rabbi once told me that it is not how many prayers we don’t say that matters to God, but rather how many we do. That is important to all of us, but especially for beginners. If this is your first attempt...

Joy to the World: Inspirational Christmas Messages from America's Preachers

by Olivia Cloud

"Is there an idea or a dream that is lingering in the back of your mind this Christmas season?" asks the Reverend Robert H. Schuller in Joy to the World: Inspirational Christmas Messages from America's Preachers...

Onward, Christian Soldiers: The Growing Political Power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States

by Deal Hudson

Like a mighty army moves the church of God;

Brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod.

We are not divided, all one body we.

One in hope and doctrine, one in charity.

-- From the nineteenth-century...

A Very Brief History of Eternity

by Carlos Eire

What is eternity? Is it anything other than a purely abstract concept, totally unrelated to our lives? A mere hope? A frightfully uncertain horizon? Or is it a certainty, shared by priest and scientist alike,...

The Masks of Christ: Behind the Lies and Cover-ups About the Life of Jesus

by Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince

From the gnostic gospels to the Nativity, religious mythology immortalized Jesus -- his personality, his actions, his words -- but what if they didn't tell the truth?

Although an entire religion is based on...

The Hindus: An Alternative History

by Wendy Doniger

"Don't miss this equivalent of a brilliant graduate course froma feisty and exhilarating teacher."

-The Washington Post

An engrossing and definitive narrative account of history and myth, The Hindus offers...

Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years

by Diarmaid MacCulloch

The definitive history of Christianity for our time.

A product of electrifying scholarship conveyed with commanding skill, Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity goes back to the origins of the Hebrew Bible and...

The Maharishi Effect: A Personal Journey Through the Movement That Transformed American Spirituality

by Geoff Gilpin

This penetrating literary-journalistic memoir depicts the clash between promise and reality within the movement that virtually defined alternative spirituality in America: Transcendental Meditation and its...

The Saint and the Sultan: The Crusades, Islam, and Francis of Assisi's Mission of Peace

by Paul Moses

An intriguing examination of the extraordinary–and little known meeting between St. Francis of Assisi and Islamic leader Sultan Malik Al-Kamil that has strong resonance in today's divided world.

For many of...

Writings of Henry Barrow, 1587-1590

by Henry Barrow

Henry Barrow and John Greenwood are the fathers of Elizabethan Separatism. Unlike Robert Browne, they refused to compromise their beliefs or conform to Anglicanism and as a consequence they died in 1593 - as...

The Bhagavata Purana: Sacred Text and Living Tradition

by Ravi M. Gupta & Kenneth R. Valpey

A vibrant example of living literature, The Bhagavata Purana is a versatile Hindu sacred text containing more than 14,000 Sanskrit verses. Finding its present form around the tenth century C.E., the work inspired...

The Cistercians in the Middle Ages

by Janet Burton & Julie Kerr

The Cistercians (White Monks) were the most successful monastic experiment to emerge from the tumultuous intellectual and religious fervour of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. By around 1150 they had established...

Killing Jesus: The Unknown Conspiracy Behind the World's Most Famous Execution

by Stephen

Discover the largely unknown intense human drama, powerful political intrigue and gritty, horrifying secrets behind the execution of Jesus.

The Apostolic Fathers and the New Testament

by Clayton N. Jefford

The apostolic fathers were authors of nonbiblical church writings of the first and early second centuries. These works are important because their authors, Clement I, Hermas, Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, and...

To All Nations From All Nations: A History of the Christian Missionary Movement

by Carlos F. Cardoza-Orlandi & Justo L. Gonzalez

The history of Christianity, the growth of the Church, is the history of its missionary efforts, its successes and failures.

Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament

by J. Julius Jr. Scott

This survey of intertestamental Judaism illuminates the customs and controversies that provide essential background for understanding the New Testament. Scott opens a door into the Jewish world and literature...

Holiness and Mission: Learning from the Early Church about Mission in the City

by Morna Hooker & Frances Young

Mission is one of the key subjects for the church today. What does it mean to live the Christian faith in a world of many faiths and none? In this book, two leading scholars explore what mission and discipleship...

Historical Dictionary of the Crusades

by Corliss K. Slack

The second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Crusades is an accessible one-volume overview of the medieval crusades to the Middle East between 1095 and 1291, with substantial information on crusades in...

Islam in China: Religion, Ethnicity, Culture, and Politics

by Raphael Israeli

'Are they really Muslims?' Islam in China reveals the struggle for identity of the small yet vital Muslim community of China, a little-studied minority on the fringes of the Islamic world now thrust into the...