Religion Past & Present ─ Sif-Tog

This volume covers Sif-Tog in Brill's Encyclopedia of Religion Past and Present. This is a work in skillful English translation; the original is in German. It gives attention to many topics with a relationship to religion, including social sciences, arts, and humanities. These entries were written for German readers; attention to history and scholarship in other languages is necessarily limited, but German-speaking thinkers and their relationships to religion are covered at length in many fields. The series is an encyclopedia of religion for a Protestant readership, originally written in an older style (this standard reference work was created in 1908), and updated for the new edition. Accounts of the political and geographic development of non-Christian faiths are clear and concise. Information on non-Christian beliefs is largely historical, and non-European cultures are seen from outside perspectives. Readers hoping to understand these cultures and beliefs in the contemporary world should seek other sources; this is a work of Christian scholarship covering a rich range of topics, with great depth in almost any area connected to German history, art, literature, faith, and intellectual culture. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)