Jane Rechtman and Terry Ward worked with these readings for years before pulling them together for the benefit of the rest of us. Their 400 plus pages of short, accessible selections result in a broad range of texts for secondary school students that cover the five traditions usually considered "major," and others that it’s nice for our students to have contact with. Most notable among the latter category are the pages devoted to indigenous religions.
This is more than a collection of readings gleaned from books the authors have found useful with their students. The Compendium is tied together by short essays that introduce, and bring a cohesion to, the readings Rechtman and Ward have chosen. One compelling example of this is Terry Ward’s essay to introduce Buddhism ("It Starts With Breath"), which is a humble, personal account inviting students to reflect, to meditate, and to question, but especially not to judge Buddhism through eyes that are overly rooted in a culture that has traditionally placed more emphasis on Logos than on Mythos.
Similarly, the Rechtman’s touch in the section on Judaism helps weave it together into what I felt might be the "strongest" section of the anthology. Excerpts from The Word Book: Religion, Sin, and All that Stuff, which Rechtman co-authored with Barbara Jones, introduce the selections from the Torah and the Prophets in a way that presents Judaism’s foundational texts both simply and "smoothly." Among the more modern selections, the excerpts from The Wisdom of the Jewish Sages is one on my favorite selections in the whole work.
But back to the beginning. The Compendium’s first two sections introduce students to important themes. They raise questions related to what religion is, to why religion exists, and to what constitutes religious expression. These introductory pages, as the authors state, "set the stage for all the other material in the book." As page 2 tells us even more clearly, it’s a series of readings that reconnect people to their sources. These are great, and important, issues to deal with—along with meaningful texts—when introducing students to the wonderful field of religions.
Relative to the other traditions, there is less from Buddhism, in terms of foundational texts, than I’d prefer: an excerpt from the Metta Sutra, and a chapter from the Dhammapada. In the best of all my possible worlds, I might add the Diamond Sutra or a parable or two from the Lotus Sutra. Especially delightful, on the other hand, is Surya Das’s story about "The Mani Man" who, despite life’s vicissitudes and the reactions of those around him, maintains perfect Buddhist composure at his prayer wheel.
I’m not sure if this was always the case, but in most places where I was aware of it, Ward and Rechtman did an excellent job in their choice of translations. One case in point is Ursula K. LeGuin’s rendition of the Tao Te Ching, which has always been one of my students’ favorites of the dozen or so they see. Similarly, the section on Islam used what many scholars and lay readers alike have been saying: that Michael Sells’ renditions of the Meccan suras from Approaching the Qur’an are not only eminently readable, but also beautiful.
Because I spend a lot of time with Islam, both personally and professionally, I tend to be more critical of anthology selections here than with other religions. Given their space limitations, I felt like Ward and Rechtman did an excellent job.
There are always things I’d like to be a little different in a collection of readings. In this case, my wish list might include more African or South American traditions (I think there was but one of each), more foundational texts from Buddhism, maybe a little more historical introduction to Shintoism; there is nothing on the Sikhs, which may constitute the planet’s fifth largest religious group.... with a little work I could expand my list. But we all have our preferences, such is life. The fact is that Rechtman and Ward’s Compendium has a great selection of quite accessible texts: they’re traditional, they’re modern; they look at social problems and women’s issues. The text contains stories, poetry, personal experiences, first hand accounts… and more. The two professionals who put these readings together are teachers in the secondary school classroom, and they know from experience what kids respond to. CSEE publications aim to be "basic," usable texts. They certainly did it right in deciding to publish and distribute the fruit of Ward and Rechtman’s labors: the Compendium is not a "slick" text, but it is four hundred pages of solid, usable, relevant readings, and there’s lots in it for any secondary school religion classroom.
review ©2003 by David Streight and RSiSS
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