Includes small portraits of all the major religious traditions by scholars in each field, as well as essays on spiritual philosophies such as Wicca, theosophy, and indigenous religions by various adherents. The book is divided into four sections: major world religions, spiritualisms, and philosophies; interfaith dialogue; creating a peaceful, inclusive, just world; and a very large resource guide with various directories of on- and off-line religious sites. Under the third section, on creating a peaceful world, for example, one may find "The Jain Declaration on Nature," wherein it is written that one of Gandhi's most treasured friends was a Jain, Shrimad Rajchandra, who influenced the Mahatma with a central Jain tenet, ahimsa , or nonviolence. The section on the Unification Church, another example, is absent all mention of the different phases and kinds of Moon's troubles, attempting only to give an objective portrait of the religion's tenets. This uncontentious, unconditionally loving compendium came out of a 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)