Encyclopedia of World Religions, Cults and the Occult

The Encyclopedia of World Religions, Cults and the Occult is a comprehensive introduction to and analysis of all the varieties of belief present in the world today.

The first, and major, section covers primarily the twelve "classical" religions; Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Taoism, Judaism, Jainism, Confucianism, Baha'i, Shinto and Zoroastrianism.

From all these extensive quotations from the major scriptures are quoted.

Tables of statistics are provided covering numbers and extent, background articles, analyses of beliefs and comparison with Christian beliefs.

Other world religions such as Animism, Eastern Religions and New Japanese religions, along with atheism, agnosticism, and non-religious worldviews are also covered.

The second section covers the traditional major Christian cults; Christian Science, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism and Seventh-Day Adventism.

Others featured range from Apocalyptic cults to the Worldwide Church of God.

Finally a description is given of a huge variety of further practice, from acupuncture to Zen. Timelines, summaries, facts and figures, comparison charts, histories of the different groups, case histories of people involved and their teachings make this the most concise and comprehensive volume on the market.

The approach is from an evangelical Christian perspective, aiming to help both understanding and discernment in approaching the variety of beliefs widespread in the world today.