Religion is one of the oldest human activities and even in the present day pervades almost every aspect of life, but with so many seemingly incomprehensible beliefs, laws, rituals, and terminologies, you can't tell the players without a program. The Joy of Sects overcomes this confusion by presenting a rich trove of information in a concise, browsable format. It is a guidebook to the world's religious traditions not only for the devout follower but also for the interested outsider, for the curious unbeliever, and for anyone who ever wondered about the difference between karma and dharma, yin and yang, samadhi and satori, Talmud and Torah, the astral plane and the akashic record, Pharisees and Sadducees, Sunnis and Shiites, Aricans and Eckists.Take a tour of the world's religious sects and subsects: fact and fiction, founders and beliefs, accomplishments and failures. Get to know the key figures in what one modern spiritual teacher called "the only dance there is." Discover the underlying thread that connects all spiritual traditions while you explore surprising correspondences between often antagonistic creeds. The Joy of Sects ties it all together for you, explaining the panorama of humanity's spiritual quest in a lively and intelligent way that's sure to satisfy. Read Less