Religion in prehistoric and primitive cultures -- Representative national religions of the past -- Early Hinduism: the passage of optimistic polytheism to world denial -- Jainism: a study in asceticism -- Buddhism in its first phase: common sense in world denial -- The religious development of Buddhism: the return to optimism -- Later Hinduism: religion as the basis of the social structure -- Sikhism: a study in syncretism -- Chinese religion and the Taoists -- Confucius and Confucianism: a study in optimistic humanism -- Shinto: the religion of Japanese patriotism -- Zoroastrianism: the religion of ethical dualism -- Judaism: the discovery of one God in nature and the social process -- Christianity in its opening phase: the religion of Jesus -- The religious development of Christianity -- Islam: monotheism with an Arabian coloring in interaction with various cultures.