Bowker's World Religions: A DK Illustrated Reference to the Great Faiths
{{John Bowker}}'s World Religions: The Great Faiths Explored & Explained (DK, 1997) is a heavily illustrated reference book covering the major world religious traditions. Written by a {{Cambridge}} scholar and Church of England priest, it is balanced in tone and best used as reference rather than read straight through.
World Religions: The Great Faiths Explored & Explained, by John Bowker, was published by Dorling Kindersley (DK) in 1997. It is a heavily illustrated reference book in DK's signature visual encyclopedia format, written by Bowker — a Cambridge religious studies scholar and ordained Church of England priest. Coverage spans ancient traditions (Celtic religion, Norse religion, Egyptian religion, Greek religion, Roman religion, Mesoamerican religion), the major living traditions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto), and smaller or newer religious movements. Reviewers consistently describe the treatment as fair and balanced — Bowker does not visibly favor any tradition over another despite his own Christian background. The book's strengths are its visual presentation (photographs, diagrams of ritual objects, architectural illustrations, comparative charts) and its accessibility for browsing. It works well as a household reference or a starting point for unfamiliar traditions — you can flip to Sikhism or Shinto and get oriented quickly. Its limitations are inherent to the format. The visual-encyclopedia structure trades depth for breadth: each tradition gets summary treatment rather than the sustained argument or scholarly framework a monograph provides. For a deeper scholarly treatment of the Abrahamic religions specifically, Karen Armstrong's A History of God offers comparative historical analysis rather than reference-style coverage. The book belongs on a shelf as a lookup tool, not on a nightstand as a read-through. It is most valuable for orienting a reader new to a tradition before they move to deeper sources.