This publication, approved by the Essex Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education and checked for accuracy “by members of the appropriate faith community”, is not intended for use with pupils. Instead, it seeks “to provide teachers, particularly non-specialists, with an overview of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism”. To a limited extent it succeeds in this aim, but given the existence of a wide range of other introductory literature in this area, one would be loath to give it priority on any list of recommendations.

Although it does contain some useful information, the presentation is far from engaging. At times the text is so clipped as to give little more than dictionary-style entries for some of the topics and illustrations are often unclear. An initial map of Religions of the World contains some curious blanks; the account of the Wheel of Life omits an entire segment of this important symbol; the need to include a drawing of the Bible is questionable; and festivals are too often simply listed.

But the major shortcoming is its paucity of references to other sources. Only seven books are listed in the further reading section at the start and the individual chapters contain no bibliographical guidance specific to the six religions covered.

So long as RE has to rely on non-specialist teaching, it is surely crucial that any support material designed for such staff provides a clearly marked pathway into the specialised knowledge which is essential for education of a high quality in this, as in any other, area of the curriculum.