12 Major World Religions

How I wish 12 Major World Religions by Jason Boyett was on my bookshelf when I was in college as it would have saved me many hours at the library! The book is a concise summary of the current top world religions. In his introduction, the author states that “the overall tone of this book aims to be descriptive rather than devotional, respecting all religions while remaining as neutral and accurate as possible.” It is one of the best overall quick reference guides I have come across.  If your business involves interacting with other faiths, this reference book is a must have to learn quickly about the beliefs that shape how many citizens in our world think and behave.  

I’ve been exploring different religions for most of my adult life. Growing up in the southern region of the United States, often referred to as the Bible Belt, most everyone I knew was Christian. Rather than one church, my childhood was filled with experiences visiting a wide variety of Christian Sects; Catholic, Baptist, LDS, Greek orthodox, Methodist, Presbyterian.  Weekend sleepovers at friends’ houses almost always included attending their family church on Sunday.  I enjoyed the variety of the services and would occasionally asked my friends’ parents questions after the service, which spurred some unexpected answers!  

Once I began to live on my own at a large university, I began to interact with individuals practicing many other faiths. Classmates introduced me to Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism during this time.  My curiosity combined with studying, living and socializing in more diversity than I experienced in childhood provided a great opportunity.  Additionally, my journalism studies required deep dives into analyzing and writing about important world news, which often included conflicts. Some of which stemmed from religious conflict.  Numerous writing assignments required sharing the basic tenets of a particular organized religion to give the article context.  The deeper my religious understanding, the easier the assignments became. 

I purchased Mr. Boyette’s Book as a result of a conversation with a group of teenagers in 2021 while meeting with a diverse Teen Council for a local nonprofit. Students of all different backgrounds and schools in our region apply and interview to serve on Thrive Clermont’s Teen Advisory Council.  During a meeting, one students on the council started asking a lot of questions about the religious traditions around Christmas. She was Islamic. Her original questions spurred a much larger and longer discussion among the group on belief systems and customs. During this discussion, we realized we had 5 different religions represented by teens currently at the table.  What a great learning opportunity! At the next monthly meeting, I showed up with Jason Boyett’s 12 Major World Religions and we all learned a bit more about each other.  This book is an inviting path and gateway to understanding the commonalities among all religions. 

A two-page chart at the beginning of the book gives a great comparison of all the featured religion by percentage of the world population, primary locations, number of sects and the primary text(s) for each. The chart also provides the main symbols for each religion. The 12m major religions covered in the book include: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Tsaoism, Buddhism, Judaism, Sikhism, Confucianism, Shinto, Jainism, Baha’I, Zoroastrianism 

Each religion is then presented, somehow, both concisely and thoroughly at the same time.  Each of the 12 religions featured is organized with a historical timeline followed by sections on the major tenents, key figures and texts, along with major festivals and holy days.   

One shortfall, it was published in 2016, the numbers and world percentages on the chart are not up to date. And having recently seen the movie One Love about the life of Bob Marley, I went looking for more info on the Rastafari religious tenents but it is not included in this edition.   It is 2024, however, and we can look this stuff up online easily.  

I find myself returning to this book often due to the organization of so much information into an easily digestible format. This is a great bridge for understanding and I would recommend it as a reference for any modern leader’s shelf.