A Discovery of the Banian Religion and the Religion of the Persees: A Critical Edition of Two Early English Works on Indian Religions

Presents chaplain Henry Lord's A Display of Two Forraigne Sects in the East-Indies (1630)as the first significant but neglected work written in English on Indian religions. Prefatory comments note that this not entirely accurate but always informative two-part account satisfied his compatriots' curiosity about exotic religious traditions while reinforcing the early English Protestant view of such religions as errant "composed fictions". The editor's notes help link Lord's and current accounts of Hindu, Parsee, and Zoroastrian beliefs and rituals. Includes the reproduced title page of Lord's original edition, a chronological bibliography of the editions, and a glossary of period terms.