Bringing together classical and contemporary, well-known and lesser-known writers, this anthology is an up-to-date resource for main currents of thought about religion. It touches on the history psychology, symbolism, sociology, and practices of relgion

Authors speaking from within religious communities and writers observing religion from outside a formal religious structure present a balanced view of each of the major aspects of religion. Selections from classical writers like Apuleius and Augustine, renowned scholars like Marx, Freud, Piaget, Tillich, and Lévi-Strauss, and less-often quoted writers like Huineng add up to diverse and provocative views on religion and its place in human society. A section on options and issues in religion today and tomorrow encapsulates the religious meaning of such recent trends as Eastern mysticism in America, neo-evangelicalism, space exploration, the medical revolution, and world hunger. Alvin Toffler, Andrew Greeley, and other scholars speculate on the future of religion and whether or not it is in the process of changing radically.