Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions

by J. Gordon Melton

Book Overview

Presents coverage of more than 2,500 North American religious groups in the U.S. and Canada, from Adventists to Zen Buddhists. Entries contain essays and directory listings that describe the historical development of religious families and give factual information about each group within those families, including, where available, headquarter location, membership figures, a listing of educational facilities and information on periodicals published...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 078769696X
• ISBN13: 9780787696962
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Gale Cengage
• Length: 1386 Pages
• Weight: 7.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.3" x 8.6" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

A MOST EXCELLENT REFERENCE GUIDE

This book has helped my research about religions tremendously ! I have to recommend this book to any one seeking a Greater knowledge!

An essential reference for scholars of religion

J. Gordon Melton's "Encyclopedia of American Religions" is a reference work to which I turn, year after year, in my work as both a scholar and journalist. And I eagerly look forward to each new edition (I viewed the 6th edition as I prepared this review).This mammoth work contains both a series of essays on major religious traditions and a series of profiles of individual denominations, fellowships, and missions. The profiles on individual religious bodies number well over 2,300 in the 6th edition. Mailing addresses and bibliographic references (when available) for each individual body further add to the book's usefulness.Melton covers everything from the largest mainstream denominations to the smallest and most esoteric bodies. His broad editorial vision takes in nearly every conceivable religious tradition: Christianity in all its permutations (Anglican, Lutheran, Pentecostal, etc.), Judaism, Hinduism and other Eastern traditions, Neo-Pagan groups, "flying saucer"-related fellowships, Atheist and Humanist associations, and more. Each entry is written in an objective manner.The latest edition of this book should be in every library in Canada and the United States. Furthermore, serious journalists and scholars of religion will find this to be a useful and fascinating edition to their own private libraries.

Must for any library -

While I don't own it (yet) I've been impressed with it since first learning of it. While this is not a work on which most households would spend hundreds of dollars, there really is no substitute for Melton's masterpiece. Even defunct and/or oddball sects are included, such as Kennedy worshippers, the House of David, and schismatic versions of many faiths. The organization of this work is by theological classification (Holiness movement or Black Muslim for two examples), but the index is comprehensive.

An extremely important reference work.

In this mammoth work (which is regularly updated), Melton has provided clear and unbiased descriptions of virtually every religious body of any size operating in the United States today.Every religious body is identified by the "family" into which it fits (or from which it came) eg. Western Liturgical Family, Eastern Liturgical Family, etc., and described in terms of date of founding, major beliefs, size, number of congregations, organizational structure, and, in many cases, contact information.This book is a must in every university or seminary library -- regardless of religion or denomination. The serious scholar will also wish to have a copy.

Eye Opening

I found this to be eye opening. I have had a hard time finding a book that could teach me about the different religions/denominations. This one was very comprehensive. I highly recommend it.