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Religion in Five Minutes

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Religion in Five Minutes provides an accessible and lively introduction to the questions about religious beliefs, behaviours, and institutions that interest many of us, whether or not we personally identify with a religion. The book offers brief essays on a wide range of fascinating questions about religion and its study, such as: How did religion start? What religion is the oldest? Who are the Nones? Why do women seem to play lesser roles in many religions? What’s the difference between a religion and a cult? Is Europe less religious than North America? Is Buddhism a philosophy? How do scholars study religions of groups that no longer exist? All entries are written by an international team of scholars who work on the topics covered; each of its short essays offers readers succinct but also insightful answers along with providing suggestions for further reading.

The second edition of Religion in Five Minutes—the lead volume in a series of more focused books on the religions of the world—includes all of the entries from the first but enlarges that volume by 25%—now with 100 answers to common questions, focusing much of the new material on issues of relevance to religion in Europe, from the presence of crucifixes in public government offices in Germany and controversies around Muslim women’s head coverings in France to the role played by Religious Education in the UK. Because each chapter can be read in about five minutes, the book is an ideal supplementary resource for classes but also an engaging read for those curious about the world around them.

Published: Aug 1, 2025

Book Contributors

Series

Section Chapter Authors
Preface
Preface to the 2nd edition Aaron Hughes, Russell McCutcheon
Religion
1. Is everyone religious? Russell McCutcheon
2. Where does the word religion come from? David McConeghy
3. What does it take for something to be classified as a “religion”? Robyn Walsh
4. Can sports be a religion? Russell McCutcheon
5. What is the difference between religion and mythology? Russell McCutcheon
6. What is the difference between religion and philosophy? Nathan Dickman
7. What is the difference between a religion and a cult? Jason Blum
8. What is the difference between religion and magic? Ian Alexander Cuthbertson
9. Do all religious adherents believe in the concept of a higher power? Steven Ramey
10. Do all religions have sacred books? Russell McCutcheon
11. Do all religions have miracles? Russell McCutcheon
12. How did religion start? Nickolas Roubekas
13. What is the function of religion? Rick Moore
14. What’s the difference between rituals and habits? Russell McCutcheon
15. Can I be spiritual but not religious? Michael Stausberg
16. Is atheism, or secularism, just another religion? Craig Martin
17. Why is religion so often involved in politics? Ian Alexander Cuthbertson
18. Why is religion often mentioned in the foundational governing documents, such as Constitutions, in many liberal democracies? Patrick Hart
19. Would it be correct to classify a country that has an official religion as a theocracy? Stephen Young
20. What is the oldest religion? Vaia Touna
21. How many religions are there? Michael Altman
22. How does religion spread and what is its appeal? Sarah Dees
23. Why do so many religions seem to contain traces of influence from other religions? Linh Hoang
24. Why do so many people believe that only one religion can be right? Nathan Dickman
25. Were the Wars of Religion in France really about religion? Daniel Dubuisson
26. If everyone worships a god, why are there so many distinctions in religions? Leslie Dorrough Smith
27. Do people actually believe in their religious practices because they want to, or because of how they were raised? Nathan Colborne
28. Can people belong to more than one religion? Ann Taves
29. Who are the “Nones” and why are they so important? Mike Graziano
30. Why would people today self-identify as pagan or heathen when it may be offensive to call people that? Suzanne Owen
31. Is religion in decline? Ian Alexander Cuthbertson
32. What does it mean to say that we are now post-secular? Matt Sheedy
The Religions
33. Are there any religions that do not have official leaders? Jason Ellsworth
34. Is it true that women play a lesser role in most religions? Leslie Dorrough Smith
35. Why do women in some religions cover up their faces, or even their whole bodies? Leslie Dorrough Smith
36. Why have Muslim women’s head coverings received such critical attention from the government in France over the past decade or so? Carmen Becker
37. Why do people fight so much over their religious beliefs? Craig Martin
38. Is there a large difference between the main religions or do they just have minor variations on the same overall idea? Steven Ramey
39. Is voodoo really a religion? Emily Crews
40. Why did Romans basically copy the Ancient Greek religion? Roger Beck
41. Is Satanism a religion? Nathaniel Morehouse
42. Who wrote the Bible? Stephen Young
43. Do Jews believe in the afterlife? Aaron Hughes
44. Why don’t Jewish people believe that Jesus was the Messiah? Sheldon Steen
45. What are the main differences between Protestantism, Catholicism, and Greek Orthodoxy? Vaia Touna
46. Why did St. Paul write all those letters? Patrick Hart
47. Why do some Christians use snakes in their worship? Brad Stoddard
48. Is it true that the English names of the weekdays derive from the names of pre-Christian gods? Lauren Horn Griffin
49. What is “speaking in tongues”? Jennifer Eyl
50. Is it true that religions outside of Christianity have stories of a virgin mother, crucifixion, etc.? Robyn Walsh
51. Why do some Christians not acknowledge evolution? Arthur McCalla
52. Why are the crucifixes displayed in some government offices in Germany designated not as religious symbols but, instead, as signs of a cultural heritage? Steffen Führding
53. Are Mormons Christians? Linh Hoang
54. What is biblical archaeology? Aaron Hughes
55. Is Europe less religious than North America? Julie Ingersoll
56. Were African slaves forced to become Christian when they got to plantations? Sarah Dees
57. Why are there so many radical Muslims in the world today? Matt Sheedy
58. What is the difference between radical and non-radical Muslims in terms of the types of Islam? Mushegh Asatryan
59. What do scholars mean by such terms as political Islam or political Buddhism, as well as Hindu Nationalism or Christian nationalism? Lauren Horn Griffin
60. Are Muslim theological colleges in such countries as Germany different from the academic field known as Islamic Studies? Edith Szanto
61. What does jihad really mean? Mushegh Asatryan
62. Are there similarities between Judaism, Christianity and Islam? Aaron Hughes
63. Is Sufism part of Islam? Aaron Hughes
64. What are the main differences between Sunni and Shia Islam? Aaron Hughes
65. Is there anything “African” about African American religions? Emily Crews
66. Are Eastern religions as connected to violence as Western religions seem to be? Jason Ellsworth
67. Do Native Americans worship nature? Sarah Dees
68. Is yoga religious? Steven Ramey
69. What is shamanism? Suzanne Owen
70. Is being a vegetarian a religious thing for some people? Jason Ellsworth
71. What is a diaspora? Russell McCutcheon
72. Isn’t Buddhism more of a philosophy than a religion? Nathaniel Morehouse
73. Why do the statues of Buddha sometimes depict him as being overweight? Kendall Marchman
74. I’ve heard the founder of Buddhism was Hindu—so how did the one develop form the other? Travis Webster
75. Are religions in Asia all connected in some way? Kendall Marchman
The Study of Religion
76. Where did the study of religion come from? Michael Stausberg
77. Who was the first scholar of religion? Michael Stausberg
78. Why is it important that we study religion? K. Merinda Simmons
79. Is there a difference between religious studies and theology? Jason Blum
80. What does it mean to decolonize the study of religion? Richard W. Newton, Jr.
81. What is exegesis? Aaron Hughes
82. What do you do when you do fieldwork in religion? Russell McCutcheon
83. What is Religious Education (RE) and is it just a version of the academic study of religion adopted in schools in the UK? David Robertson
84. Is it true that some nations in Europe fund theological education in their public schools? Aaron Hughes
85. In what ways can religion be legally discussed in U.S. public schools? Mike Graziano
86. Do scholars of religion study texts or do they study the religion firsthand, like an anthropologist might? Richard W. Newton, Jr.
87. What do scholars mean when they talk about “the material turn” in the study of religion? Linh Hoang
88. Is it possible to study religion academically and still be religious? Richard W. Newton, Jr.
89. Does the academic study of religion deny the existence of god? Blair Gadsby
90. Should the study of religions be mandatory in US schools? Julie Ingersoll
91. Why do many scholars in such places as Britain seem to focus their work on issues of religious diversity and interreligious dialogue? David Robertson
92. How do you study the religions of cultures that no longer exist? Vaia Touna
93. What is the cognitive science of religion? Robyn Walsh
94. Is the study of religion related to other academic disciplines? Jennifer Eyl
95. Why do we need the study of religion if we already have historians, anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists and folklorists? Paul-Francois Tremlett
96. Can’t I just learn about religion in my church, mosque, or temple? Brent Smith
97. Can one study one’s own religion objectively? Rebekka King
98. What is this CE and BCE dating system that I’ve seen used throughout this book? Aaron Hughes
The Future
99. What is the future of “religion”? Russell McCutcheon
100. What is the future of religion? Aaron Hughes