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A review by thomasgoddard
مختصر تاريخ الأديان by Richard Holloway
4.0
I’ve never read anything by Holloway, but I like his style of writing. It is very warm and pleasant. Like having a conversation with an elderly relation (for those of us who still have warm elderly relations). There’s the occasional bit of humour, occasionally spicy. Respect for the faiths mentioned is always apparent. I was led down a rabbit hole with a tiny mention of native american tribes and I’m now reading Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown for a little more on their ideas.
In short: this is a good refresher for anyone interested in religions of the world. It is wide-ranging, but quite honed in too. It doesn’t spend a lot of time on the earliest religions, but makes its target that of a more structural and long-lasting religious institution. Particular focus is paid to the abrahamic religions and to Indian religions. The rest are only namechecked and contrasted in a few paragraphs at best.
We are, most of us, in possession of a thinking mind that questions our existence. If you don’t think about your mortality and about god and the universe, then I’m happy for you because it can be a worrying thing to contemplate. But most of us do and most of us will seek something to ease that restless thinking and anchor our hearts in something bigger and more wonderful than the self. For that, religion is a perfect fit. Humanism though, that might be a lot less abrasive to other people’s fittings.
Criticism: too basic. I know it's a 'little' history, but it could have dug a little deeper into how religion has helped the world. It really has done more good than harm.
In short: this is a good refresher for anyone interested in religions of the world. It is wide-ranging, but quite honed in too. It doesn’t spend a lot of time on the earliest religions, but makes its target that of a more structural and long-lasting religious institution. Particular focus is paid to the abrahamic religions and to Indian religions. The rest are only namechecked and contrasted in a few paragraphs at best.
We are, most of us, in possession of a thinking mind that questions our existence. If you don’t think about your mortality and about god and the universe, then I’m happy for you because it can be a worrying thing to contemplate. But most of us do and most of us will seek something to ease that restless thinking and anchor our hearts in something bigger and more wonderful than the self. For that, religion is a perfect fit. Humanism though, that might be a lot less abrasive to other people’s fittings.
Criticism: too basic. I know it's a 'little' history, but it could have dug a little deeper into how religion has helped the world. It really has done more good than harm.