‘For anyone wrestling with the much used and little defined concept of spirituality this book is a must. By setting spiritualities in their historical context Philip Sheldrake helps us to grasp the intensity of past religious lives while recognising their distance from our own. He therefore enables us to dust off and demystify the term, drawing inspiration from the past without being enslaved by it’

Shap Working Party on World Religions

‘Philip Sheldrake is a master of lucid exposition …. I cannot remember when I last read through so much serious and carefully nuanced material, so digestibly arranged in so short a space.’

The Month

‘This study challenges traditional approaches, creates an alternative perspective, introduces readers to relevant contemporary literature, and begins to recover some of the hitherto neglected strands of spirituality…. The methodology is what makes the book so attractive, but the challenge to long-accepted assumptions is what makes it required reading for all theological students everywhere.’

Theological Book Review