Led by general editor Jonathan Z. Smith, a team drawn from the American Academy of Religion has collected more than 3,200 entries written by 327 leading experts from around the world and across the theological and religious spectrum. The exceptional editorial team includes associate editor William Scott Green and area editors Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley, Lawrence S. Cunningham, Gary L. Ebersole, Malcom David Eckel, Sam D. Gill, Alfred Hiltebeitel, Richard C. Martin, Carole A. Myscofski, Jacob Neusner, and Hans H. Penner.

Designed for the general reader, this highly accessible resource addresses everything from the great living traditions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Judaism to the very latest new religions. Diverse topics -- from the experience of women in Islam to the troublesome realities of religion and violence -- are covered with compelling facts and figures, eloquent prose, and riveting accuracy.

• What draws a person to alternative religious traditions? And what exactly is a "cult"?

• What are the branches on the Jewish Chanukah menorah symbolize? And why bitter herbs are eaten at Passover?

• Why children color eggs at Easter time? What a tree has to do with Christmas?

• Why is there such a debate over the ordination of women in the Catholic Church?

• If organized religion is necessary for a fulfilled humankind? How it all began, anyway?

All these questions and much, much more are answered in this essential and powerful new tool: The HarperCollins Dictionary of Religion -- the definitive guide to understanding religion today.