Departing from the usual established premise of religious historians that Christianity alone can claim the uniqueness of its Church, the author seeks to find counterparts of the 'holy community' in Eastern religions, and to discover their ethos and structure. Mr. Kitagawa is determined to maintain a balance between historical facts and their structuring and interpretation. He realizes that religions imply individuals gathered into communities each of which has its own pace and law of growth, quite apart from the life cycles of its individual adherents. Not only must historical facts be studied, but men and events, doctrines and scriptures, as well as movements within the particular group indicating its uniqueness. The author is an Easterner, now in the West and in the book he aims to identify himself with the West without losing his Eastern identity. The book is designed to give college students and laymen an unbiased origination for the study of comparative religion. In the present kaleidoscopic world scene this book is a mine of interpretative material for those who seek to understand their brothers' beliefs.