A thoughtful class on the practices and core elements of major religions and sects.

The author does a great job of laying down the basics before moving into the more spiritual and intangible qualities of each religion. Everything is ordered in a way that often flows together by causation or influence. Some might think their religion wasn’t covered well enough, others like there's too much of a deep dive into each. I enjoyed taking my time with this and learned a lot about theology, culture, and history.

Because the author shines such a positive light on every religion, a drawback was his rationalization of some of the more repulsive practices in the three main Abrahamic religions. Stoning, the severing of a thief’s hands, and the degradation of women were deemed reasonable by the author with statements like “flogging can be technically fulfilled by using a light sandal” and that scripture "leaves open the possibility of woman’s full equality with man”. It was only in these passages that the writing felt cagey. One drawback to an enjoyable book.