Encyclopedia of Religions - In Three Volumes Vol. I: A-D: 1

The so-called Atheist is often a widely read pious and thoughtful man who has cast aside as absurd the so-called Religions and even the theory of the Theist as untenable. He sees no solution in terms of human consciousness for any questions as to god-worship; and he finds even a statement of the problem of god-hood quite beyond utterance or thought. It seems to him a setting out to find what you know not through a process that you cannot grasp... -from Atheism This 1906 classic of comparative literature hard to find in print today was the first English-language project to approach the worlds religions from an anthropological perspective. The work of thirty years for Scottish author JAMES G. R. FORLONG (1824-1904) it was originally published under the now-antiquated title A Cyclopedia of Religions and produced at the authors own expense so strongly did he feel about the need for it despite the reluctance of the publishing houses of the day to produce it. A road engineer by trade Forlong traveled the world learning seven languages and becoming an avid amateur student of native culture-his labor of love was gathering in this three-volume set a comprehensive academic knowledge of the totality of human religious belief. Volume I: A-D includes entries on such gods peoples places practices symbols and concepts as: - Adamites ambrosia and Aphrodite - baptism Bast and bean - China Christmas and conscience - Dagon dead and Dhamma-pada - and much more.