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December 04, 2004

The Many Faces of Faith - Richard Losch

Are you confused or curious about the many worldwide religions? Are you familiar with the different forms of Hinduism? Can you describe Zoroastrianism, or Baha'i? Do you know the difference between The United Church of Christ and Churches Of Christ? Don't feel badly, I could not have answered these questions and I imagine many people would have answered the same. I could not, that is, until I found a very useful book by Richard R. Losch. It's called "The Many Faces of Faith", and it provides a brief overview of many world religions and Christian denominations.

Losch is an Episcopal rector from Alabama and the book began as a series of monthly articles for the parish newsletter. The first 12 chapters each cover one of the major world religions (excepting Christianity), the second section covers 15 major Christian groups. Each profile is a brief and easy to read, covering the history, major beliefs and practices of each religious group. As an Anglican priest, Losch tends to describe religions in terms of how they compare to Anglicanism. This may be confusing to others, but it makes things easier for Episcopalian readers. As you might expect, the section on the Anglican Communion is more detailed than the others, covering the founding of the Church of England and the characteristics of Anglicanism that distinguish it from Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.

Writing in the preface, Losch says:

"This is not intended to be a scholarly or in-depth work. Rather, it is an attempt to familiarize the reader with the main customs and beliefs of these groups, and to dispel many of the myths and misconceptions that so pervade our common beliefs about them.... in writing these articles, I have tried to discern what questions people might normally ask about the various groups and then answer them as honestly as I can."

It is increasingly impossible to remain isolated within your own faith tradition. A deeper understanding of the wide variety of religious practice worldwide and within Christianity is an excellent way to deepen your understanding of what it means to be an Anglican. The Many Faces Of Faith is an excellent overview of human spirituality and potentially a starting point for more in-depth scholarly study.

Jay Dean

You can purchase this book through the Episcopal Book Center.
The Many Faces of Faith