Zoroastrian Faith

 The Zoroastrian Faith: Tradition and Modern Research by SA Nigosian, 118 pages

Zoroastrianism is an outlier within the elastic category of Great World Religions.  For centuries it was practiced throughout successive and expansive Persian and Parthian empires, ordering the lives of millions of devotees.  It survives today only among tiny populations in Iran and India and their scattered emigre communities.  Often inaccurately labeled "fire-worship" or misunderstood as Manichaean dualism, not entirely monotheistic but not exactly polytheistic either, with strong similarities to Hinduism but also deep resonances with Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the Zoroastrian faith is unique and more than a mere curiosity.

Thankfully, SA Nigosian's survey of Zoroastrian faith and practice is true to its subtitle: "Tradition and Modern Research."  Nigosian does not approach the former uncritically, but neither does he elevate the claims of the latter to indisputable truth.  Above all, he is willing to admit when something is simply not known.  Best of all, he writes almost purely descriptively, generally avoiding the pseudo-apologetical mode common in these kinds of books.