This is an abridged version of the Oxford Dictionary of World Religions originally published in 1997. All the original entries have been retained, but longer articles have been shortened, and bibliographies have been removed. The Concise version is still a mine of information. Articles and entries cover the range of the world’s religious traditions, many of the key thinkers associated with these traditions, key thinkers about religion, and key aspects of the study of the phenomenon of religion, such as breathing, ritual, revelation and so on. There is a helpful topic index at the back of the dictionary where all the relevant articles under a particular theme are listed. This index does not only include the major religious systems, but also lists, for example, philosophers in various traditions, themes such as marriage, death, afterlife, and so on. Where different religions have different approaches to these issues this too is noted in the index. Within the articles themselves asterisks indicate cross-references to related entries. Variant transliterations of non-English terms are included, so that, for example, a reader searching under ‘Koran’ will be pointed to ‘Qur’an’. Those interested in Chinese religion will benefit from the extensive conversion table between the Wade Giles and the Pinyin systems of romanisation of Chinese words. All of these features make the dictionary a very useful tool. It is also up-to-date. For example, there is an article on Falun Gong, a Chinese New Religious Movement that has come to prominence since the original dictionary was published.

John Bowker contributes an introductory essay which approaches religion from the modernist perspective on religious studies. Thus the origins of religion are identified in the findings of socio-biology, and religions are explained as systems for protection and preservation of society. The essay is, however, sympathetic towards religion and does serve to introduce key themes in the field of religious studies. Most of the contributors also write from the perspective of religious studies rather than from that of an ‘insider’ to a tradition. This may affect the presentation of certain concepts and the emphasis given or not given to particular themes. In general, however, the entries are fair, balanced and objective.

There are, inevitably, some omissions. Some of these are minor, presumably due to limits of space. For example, some quite significant New Religious Movements are not included. More serious, however, is the lack of material given to African traditional religions and to primal traditions (although African forms of Christianity are well represented). Nor is there any reference to post-modernity, which is already having an impact on religion in the west.

The brevity of the articles means that the dictionary on its own is of limited use in giving an overview to those seeking an introduction to particular religions. However, its breadth of entries means it is an ideal source of reference to use alongside more detailed textbooks. Students and teachers of religious studies will certainly benefit from having either this or, if they can afford the extra £7, the original edition.

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