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| Introduction | |
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| Primal Beliefs from Prehistory | |
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| Unseen forces are at work: Making sense of the world | |
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| Even a rock has a spirit: Animism in early societies | |
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| Special people can visit other worlds: The power of the shaman | |
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| Why are we here?: Created for a purpose | |
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| Why do we die?: The origin of death | |
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| Eternity is now: The Dreaming | |
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| Our ancestors will guide us: The spirits of the dead live on | |
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| We should be good: Living in harmony | |
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| Everything is connected: A lifelong bond with the gods | |
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| The gods desire blood: Sacrifice and blood offerings | |
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| We can build a sacred space: Symbolism made real | |
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| We are in rhythm with the universe: Man and the cosmos | |
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| We exist to serve the gods: The burden of observance | |
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| Our rituals sustain the world: Renewing life through ritual | |
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| Ancient and Classical Beliefs from 3000 BCE | |
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| There is a hierarchy of gods and men: Beliefs for new societies | |
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| The good live forever in the kingdom of Osiris: Preparing for the afterlife | |
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| The triumph of good over evil depends on humankind: The battle between good and evil | |
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| Accept the way of the universe: Aligning the self with the dao | |
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| The Five Great Vows: Self-denial leads to spiritual liberation | |
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| Virtue is not sent from heaven: Wisdom lies with the superior man | |
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| A divine child is born: The assimilation of myth | |
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| The oracles reveal the will of the gods: Divining the future | |
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| The gods are just like us: Beliefs that mirror society | |
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| Ritual links us to our past: Living the Way of the Gods | |
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| The gods will die: The end of the world as we know it | |
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| Hinduism from 1700 BCE | |
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| Through sacrifice we maintain the order of the universe: A rational world | |
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| The divine has a female aspect: The power of the great goddess | |
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| Sit up close to your guru: Higher levels of teaching | |
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| Brahman is my self within the heart: The ultimate reality | |
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| We learn, we live, we withdraw, we detach: The four stages of life | |
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| It may be your duty to kill: Selfless action | |
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| The practice of yoga leads to spiritual liberation: Physical and mental discipline | |
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| We speak to the gods through daily rituals: Devotion through puja | |
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| The world is an illusion: Seeing with pure consciousness | |
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| So many faiths, so many paths: God-consciousness | |
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| Nonviolence is the weapon of the strong: Hinduism in the political age | |
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| Buddhism from 6th Century BCE | |
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| Finding the Middle Way: The enlightenment of Buddha | |
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| There can be an end to suffering: Escape from the eternal cycle | |
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| Test Buddha's words as one would the quality of gold: The personal quest for truth | |
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| Religious discipline is necessary: The purpose of monastic vows | |
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| Renounce killing and good will follow: Let kindness and compassion rule | |
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| We cannot say what a person is: The self as constantly changing | |
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| Enlightenment has many faces: Buddhas and bodhisattvas | |
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| Act out your beliefs: The performance of ritual and repetition | |
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| Discover your Buddha nature: Zen insights that go beyond words | |
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| Judaism from 2000 BCE | |
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| I will take you as my people, and I will be your God: God's covenant with Israel | |
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| Beside me there is no other God: From monolatry to monotheism | |
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| The Messiah will redeem Israel: The promise of a new age | |
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| Religious law can be applied to daily life: Writing the Oral Law | |
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| God is incorporeal, indivisible, and unique: Defining the indefinable | |
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| God and humankind are in cosmic exile: Mysticism and the kabbalah | |
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| The holy spark dwells in everyone: Man as a manifestation of God | |
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| Judaism is a religion, not a nationality: Faith and the state | |
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| Draw from the past, live in the present, work for the future: Progressive Judaism | |
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| If you will it, it is no dream: The origins of modern political Zionism | |
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| Where was God during the Holocaust?: A challenge to the covenant | |
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| Women can be rabbis: Gender and the covenant | |
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| Christianity from 1st Century CE | |
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| Jesus is the beginning of the end: Jesus's message to the world | |
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| God has sent us his Son: Jesus's divine identity | |
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| The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church: Dying for the message | |
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| The body may die but the soul will live on: Immortality in Christianity | |
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| God is three and God is one: A divine trinity | |
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| God's grace never fails: Augustine and free will | |
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| In the world, but not of the world: Serving God on behalf of others | |
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| There is no salvation outside the Church: Entering into the faith | |
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| This is my body, this is my blood: The mystery of the Eucharist | |
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| God's word needs no go-betweens: The Protestant Reformation | |
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| God is hidden in the heart: Mystical experience in Christianity | |
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| The body needs saving as well as the soul: Social holiness and evangelicalism | |
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| Scientific advances do not disprove the Bible: The challenge of modernity | |
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| We can influence God: Why prayer works | |
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| Islam from 610 CE | |
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| Muhammad is God's final messenger: The Prophet and the origins of Islam | |
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| The Qur'an was sent down from heaven: God reveals his word and his will | |
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| The Five Pillars of Islam: The central professions of faith | |
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| The imam is God's chosen leader: The emergence of Shi'a Islam | |
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| God guides us with shari'a: The pathway to harmonious living | |
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| We can think about God, but we cannot comprehend him: Theological speculation' in Islam | |
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| Jihad is our religious duty: Striving in the way of God | |
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| The world is one stage of the journey to God: The ultimate reward for the righteous | |
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| God is unequaled: The unity of divinity is necessary | |
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| Arab, water pot, and angels are all ourselves: Sufism and the mystic tradition | |
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| The latter days have brought forth a new prophet: The origins of Ahmadiyya | |
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| Islam must shed the influence of the West: The rise of Islamic revivalism | |
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| Islam can be a modern religion: The compatibility of faith | |
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| Modern Religions from 15th Century | |
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| We must live as saint-soldiers: The Sikh code of conduct | |
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| All may enter our gateway to God: Class systems and faith | |
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| Messages to and from home: The African roots of Santeria | |
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| Ask yourself: "What would Jesus do?": Following the example of Christ | |
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| We shall know him through his messengers: The revelation of Baha'i | |
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| Brush away the dust of sin: Tenrikyo and the Joyous Life | |
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| These gifts must be meant for us: Cargo cults of the Pacific islands | |
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| The end of the world is nigh: Awaiting the Day of Judgment | |
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| The lion of Judah has arisen: Ras Tafari is our savior | |
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| All religions are equal: Cao D�i aims to unify all faiths | |
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| We have forgotten our true nature: Clearing the mind with Scientology | |
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| Find a sinless world through marriage: Purging sin in the Unification Church | |
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| Spirits rest between lives in Summerland: Wicca and the Otherworld | |
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| Negative thoughts are just raindrops in an ocean of bliss: Finding inner peace through meditation | |
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| What's true for me is the truth: A faith open to all beliefs | |
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| Chanting Hare Krishna cleanses the heart: Devotion to the Sweet Lord | |
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| Through qigong we access cosmic energy: Life-energy cultivation in Falun Dafa | |
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| Directory | |
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| Glossary | |
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| Index | |
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| Acknowledgments | |