The Greatest Works on Religion
This selection of science works is based on the continuing research carried out for The Greatest Literature of All Time and additional research into religious literature acclaimed by the world's readers, writers, critics and scholars.
The Greatest Works on Religion focuses on nonfictional writing about religion—about its history, philosophy and practice—not religious texts themselves.
You may also be interested in The Greatest Nonfiction or The Greatest Philosophy.
This list is updated as new works are discovered and appreciation of older works evolves. Please note the revision date when citing the list.
Latest update: November 18, 2025
The 33 Greatest Works on Religion
360 BCE
Laws
by Plato, Greece
Nonfiction, originally Nomoi
c.350 BCE
Metaphysics, Book XII, Lambda
by Aristotle, Greece
Nonfiction, originally Peri Psychēs
397–400 CE
Confessions
by Augustine of Hippo, Algeria
Nonfiction
413
On the City of God Against the Pagans
by Augustine of Hippo, Algeria
Nonfiction, also known as City of God, originally De civitate Dei contra paganos
1265–1273
Summa Theologica
by Thomas Aquinas, Italy
Nonfiction
1662
Thoughts
by Blaise Pascal, France
Nonfiction, originally Pensées
1672
Life Written by Himself
by Avvákum Petróv, Russia
Nonfiction, also known as The Life of the Archpriest Avvakum, by Himself
1710
Theodicy
by Gottfried W. Leibniz, Germany
Nonfiction, subtitled Essays on the Goodness of God, the Freedom of Man, and the Origin of Evil, originally Essais de Théodicée sur la bonté de Dieu, la liberté de l'homme et l'origine du mal
1757-1779
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion
by David Hume, Scotland
Nonfiction, also known as Dialogues and Natural History of Religion
1841
The Essence of Christianity
by Ludwig Feuerbach, Germany
Nonfiction, originally Das Wesen des Christentums
1843
Fear and Trembling
by Søren Kierkegaard, Denmark
Nonfiction
1890
The Golden Bough
by James George Frazer, Scotland
Nonfiction, subtitled A Study in Comparative Religion, also known as The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion
1902
The Varieties of Religious Experience
by William James, England
Nonfiction
1905
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
by Max Weber, Germany
Nonfiction
1912
The Elementary Forms of Religious Life
by Émile Durkheim, France
Nonfiction
1943
The Nature and Destiny of Man
by Reinhold Niebuhr, United States
Nonfiction, subtitled A Christian Interpretation
1948
Zen In the Art Of Archery
by Eugen Herrigel, Germany
Nonfiction
1952
Mere Christianity
by C.S. Lewis, England
Nonfiction
1955
The Phenomenon of Man
by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, France
Nonfiction, originally Le Phénomène Humain
1958
The World's Religions
by Huston Smith, United States
Nonfiction, originally The Religions of Man
1961
The Sacred and the Profane
by Mircea Eliade, Romania
Nonfiction, subtitled The Nature of Religion
1971
A Theology of Liberation
by Gustavo Gutiérrez, Peru
Nonfiction, subtitled History, Politics and Salvation, originally Teología de la liberación: Perspectivas
1976
Cheese and the Worms
by Carlo Ginzburg, Italy
Nonfiction, originally Il formaggio e i vermi
1979
The Gnostic Gospels
by Elaine Pagels, United States
Nonfiction
1991
Old Path White Clouds
by Thích Nhất Hạnh, Vietnam
Nonfiction
1993
History of God, A
by Karen Armstrong, England
Nonfiction
2002
The Pupose Driven Life
by Rick Warren, United States
Nonfiction
2005
Misquoting Jesus
by Bart Ehrman, United States
Nonfiction, subtitled The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why
2006
The God Delusion
by Richard Dawkins, England
Nonfiction
2007
God Is Not Great
by Christopher Hitchens, England
Nonfiction, subtitled How Religion Poisons Everything
God's Undertaker
by JOhn Lennox, Northern Ireland
Nonfiction, subtitled Has Science Buried God?
2010
God Is Not One
by Stephen Prothero, United States
Nonfiction, subtitled The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World—and Why Their Differences Matter
2016
A Little History of Religion
by Richard Holloway, Scotland
Nonfiction
