Top 30 Comparative Religion Books Ranked by Reviews

See an Overview of this Rating System and Algorithm Here

Top 10

#1 Rebecca McLaughlin’s The Secular Creed: Engaging Five Contemporary Claims

4.0

In this house we believe that: Black Lives Matter Love Is Love Gay Rights Are Civil Rights Women’s Rights Are Human Rights Transgender Women Are Women You may have seen signs with some of these messages in your neighborhood. They offer us an all-or-nothing package deal—in short, a secular creed. In this provocative book, Rebecca McLaughlin helps us disentangle the beliefs Christians gladly affirm from those they cannot embrace, and invites us to talk with our neighbors about the things that matter most. Far from opposing love across difference, McLaughlin argues, Christianity is the original source and firmest foundation for true diversity, equality, and life-transforming love.

#2 Abraham Joshua Heschel’s God in Search of Man: a Philosophy of Judaism

4.0

Abraham Joshua Heschel was one of the most revered religious leaders of the 20th century, and God in Search of Man and its companion volume, Man Is Not Alone, two of his most important books, are classics of modern Jewish theology. God in Search of Man combines scholarship with lucidity, reverence, and compassion as Dr. Heschel discusses not man’s search for God but God’s for man–the notion of a Chosen People, an idea which, he writes, “signifies not a quality inherent in the people but a relationship between the people and God.” It is an extraordinary description of the nature of Biblical thought, and how that thought becomes faith.

#3 The Quran

4.0

The Qur’an, believed by Muslims to be the word of God, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad 1400 years ago. It is the supreme authority in Islam and the living source of all Islamic teaching; it is a sacred text and a book of guidance, that sets out the creed, rituals, ethics, and laws of the Islamic religion. It has been one of the most influential books in the history of literature. Recognized as the greatest literary masterpiece in Arabic, it has nevertheless remained difficult to understand in its English translations. This new translation is written in a contemporary idiom that remains faithful to the original, making it easy to read while retaining its powers of eloquence…

#4 Jack Hawley’s The Bhagavad Vita: a Walkthrough for Westerners

3.93

The Bhagavad Gita has been called India’s greatest contribution to the world. For more than five thousand years, this great scripture has shown millions in the East how to fill their lives with serenity and love. In these pages, Jack Hawley brings these ancient secrets to Western seekers in a beautiful prose version that makes the story of the Gita clear and exciting, and makes its truths understandable and easy to apply to our busy lives. The Gita is a universal love song sung by God to His friend man. It can’t be confined by any creed. It is a statement of the truths at the core of what we all already believe, only it makes those truths clearer, so they become immediately useful in our daily lives…

#5 Alisa Childers’ Live Your Truth and Other Lies

3.90

Are you tired of feeling like you have to check social media to find out what you’re supposed to think? Are you weary of the latest self-help books that promise to set you free but only imprison you with laundry lists of studies to consider, positive affirmations to recite, and Facebook groups to join?
We’ve all seen the memes that populate the internet: live your truth, follow your heart, you only have one life to live. They sound nice and positive. But what if these slogans are actually lies that unhinge us from reality and leave us anxious and exhausted?..

#6 Timothy Keller’s Making Sense of God

3.82

We live in an age of skepticism. Our society places such faith in empirical reason, historical progress, and heartfelt emotion that it’s easy to wonder: Why should anyone believe in Christianity? What role can faith and religion play in our modern lives? In this thoughtful and inspiring new book, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller invites skeptics to consider that Christianity is more relevant now than ever. As human beings, we cannot live without meaning, satisfaction, freedom, identity, justice, and hope. Christianity provides us with unsurpassed resources to meet these needs…

#7 Don Richardson’s Eternity in Their Hearts: Startling Evidence of Belief in the One True God in Hundreds of Cultures Throughout the World

3.82

Has the God who prepared the gospel for all people groups also prepared all people groups for the gospel?
Don Richardson, author of the bestselling book Peace Child, has studied cultures throughout the world and found startling evidence of belief in the one true God within hundreds of them. In Eternity in Their Hearts, Richardson gives fascinating, real-life examples of ways people groups have exhibited terms and concepts in their histories that have prepared them for the gospel. Read how Pachacuti, the Inca king who founded Machu Picchu, the majestic fortress in Peru, accomplished something far more significant than merely building fortresses, temples, or monuments…

#8 J. Gresham Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism

3.80

Since its initial publication in 1923, J. Greshman Machen’s classic treatment on the subject of orthodox Christian beliefs still stands as a compelling treatment on an all-important topic. In his classic defense, Machen clarifies the basic understanding of the most fundamental Christian beliefs: doctrine, God and man, the Bible, Christ, Salvation, and the Church. Christianity and Liberalism remains just as true, useful, and informative today as when it was first published, which is why it was selected by multiple organizations as a top 100 book of its century. Read for yourself the true difference between Christianity and the counterfeit religion called Liberalism.

#9 Katherine Stewart’s The Power Worshipers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism

3.78

For too long the Religious Right has masqueraded as a social movement preoccupied with a number of cultural issues, such as abortion and same-sex marriage. In her deeply reported investigation, Katherine Stewart reveals a disturbing truth: this is a political movement that seeks to gain power and to impose its vision on all of society. America’s religious nationalists aren’t just fighting a culture war, they are waging a political war on the norms and institutions of American democracy. Stewart pulls back the curtain on the inner workings and leading personalities of a movement that has turned religion into a tool for domination…

#10 The Book of Mormon

3.74

One of the four volumes of scripture accepted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is an abridgment by an ancient prophet named Mormon of the records of ancient inhabitants of the Americas. It was written to testify that Jesus is the Christ. Concerning this record, the Prophet Joseph Smith, who translated it by the gift and power of God, said, “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book” (see the introduction at the front of the Book of Mormon)…