First published in 1902, this book investigates the history and development of early religion from an anthropological perspective. Rather than dealing with religions that grew from the teachings of their original founders, such as Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism, Jevons considers those religions that were practised as a matter of custom and tradition. The title considers such subjects as the supernatural, life and death, animal sacrifice, and the worship of nature. It provides an introduction to the history of religion for students of religion, anthropology and folklore.

Excerpt from An Introduction to the History of Religion In this book the history of early religion is investigated on the principles and methods of anthropology, and in the belief that the interests of truth and religion are fundamentally identical. The work is intended primarily for students who require an introduction to the history of religion, but will also, it is hoped, prove interesting to students of folk-lore and anthropology, and to the wider circle of general readers. As far as I am aware, there is no other book which covers exactly the same ground as this does, or which attempts to summarise the results of recent anthropology, to estimate their bearing upon religious problems, and to weave the whole into a connected history of early religion. Thus far, then, this book is original, namely, as far as regards the use to which its materials are put; but the materials themselves are largely, though not wholly, derived from the writings of others. In all cases I have endeavoured to express my obligations in the footnotes. I am, however, more especially bound to mention here the name of the late Professor Robertson Smith, to whose Religion of the Semites my obligations are too great for their expression to be confined to footnotes. My indebtedness to the works of Messrs. E. B. Tylor, A. Lang, and Frazer is here gratefully acknowledged. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

First published in 1902, this book investigates the history and development of early religion from an anthropological perspective. Rather than dealing with religions that grew from the teachings of their original founders, such as Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism, Jevons considers those religions that were practised as a matter of custom and tradition. The title considers such subjects as the supernatural, life and death, animal sacrifice, and the worship of nature. It provides an introduction to the history of religion for students of religion, anthropology and folklore.

Churchward’s The Origin and Evolution of Religion, first published in 1924, explores the history and development of different religions worldwide, from the religious cults of magic and fetishism to contemporary religions such as Christianity and Islam. This text is ideal for students of theology.