This volume presents a comprehensive survey of the origins, developments, beliefs and distribution of the world's religions. Full-colour maps, pictures and a comprehensive and accessible text combine to form a global overview of human faith and a key to understanding its role in the modern world. In the 21st century religion retains its power to move: from the devotion felt for religious leaders such as the Pope and the Dalai Lama, to the more sinister role faith plays at the heart of many of today's conflicts, in the Middle East to India, in Kosovo and Chechenia. Yet the evolution and history, the beliefs and practices of today's world faiths are often poorly understood. The book's coverage ranges from faiths such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism to cover issues such as secularism, less well-known belief systems such as Pacific Cargo Cults and includes a section on religion in the ancient world.