The Book of Religions

Creeds, church organization, missionary reports, and short biographies fill John Hayward’s religious reference volume. Its contents give particular attention to Christian denominations in Europe and America, while also including entries on other faiths and philosophical positions. Hayward explains that he sought statements from living representatives of different denominations so readers could compare their beliefs. Separate sections collect church statistics, accounts of missionary societies, and lives of religious thinkers and reformers.

The editor’s Christian purpose is explicit, even as he presents fairness as an aim. In the middle excerpt, definitions of belief and unbelief sit beside quotations defending revelation and arguing for divine design. This combination makes the book useful for studying how a Christian compiler organized religious knowledge for his audience. Its denominational vocabulary, institutional details, and selected biographies offer material for readers interested in the history of religious reference writing and theological debate.