An efflorescence of the anthropological method of comparative religion, this work is a lifetime’s collection by Edward Carpenter, resigned Anglican clergyman, socialist, and sexual reformer, on the history of pagan cults and Christianity. Two separate astronomical theories of the Nativity, totems and the sacrifice of gods, the genesis of cults from collective consciousness to the expression of individuality, redemption and the significance of initiation rites, savior cults from India to Mexico, and the implications of this for the future of religion are but a few of the topics covered. Carpenter wonders if Christian asceticism is a justified reaction to excess. Moreover, he speculates the possibility of a more social religion coming to be. This volume also includes an appendix on the doctrine of the Upanishads.