Each chapter in this volume examines one of seven major world religions -- from Judaism to Christianity and from IsLam to Buddhism -- and contains information about its holidays and festivities, key historical and mythological figures, architectural styles, calendars, language, and important texts. Generously peppered throughout the book are small, succinct sidebars on such issues as the afterlife, the roles of women, the importance of saints, and the quest for higher wisdom. We discover, for instance, that Pure Land Buddhism, found mainly in China, Japan, and Tibet, holds that meditation on a particular deity at the moment death will help insure rebirth into that deity's celestial domain. In Judaism, on the other hand, the concept of an afterlife has never a central role. Uniquely organized in a manner that encourages this type of comparative analysis, the book's lavish full-color art, maps, and photographs all focus on faith in practice, in both elaborate ritual and everyday life.