Religions ancient and modern

This documentary history of Islam from the advent of the prophet Muhammed to the capture of Constantinople by Sultan Mehmed, the Conqueror, is concerned with a period that extends from the 7th century to 1453; with a region that stretches from Western Arabia to embrace the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Asia, tropical Africa, and southern and eastern Europe; and with people and states, which, amid many diversities, share a common acceptance of the faith and law of Islam. Bernard Lewis, a widely-known authority on the Middle East, here translates from original sources and documents works that present the sweeping civilization of Islam in all its vastness and glory. (From Good Reads entry for this book.)

Includes numerous examples of primitive religion and its impact upon social patterns in Polynesia

The religion of the Babylonians and Assyrians was the polytheistic faith professed by the peoples inhabiting the Tigris and Euphrates valleys from what may be regarded as the dawn of history until the Christian era began, or, at least, until the inhabitants were brought under the influence of Christianity. The chronological period covered may be roughly estimated at about 5000 years. The belief of the people, at the end of that time, being Babylonian heathenism leavened with Judaism, the country was probably ripe for the reception of the new faith.

Scholarly studies on Shinto usually focus only on one of its dimensions: Shinto as a 'nature religion', an 'imperial state religion', a 'primal religion', or a 'folk amalgam of practices and beliefs'. Thomas Kasulis explains how these different aspects interrelate.