This work is a classic example of research in the field of the history of religion. Religious ideas are presented here not only in chronological order but are also united by a common understanding of the diversity of religious life across cultures and continents. Eliade masterfully employs the methods of comparative anthropology and demonstrates general trends in the development of religious ideas. "For the historian of religions, every manifestation of the sacred is significant: every ritual, every myth, every belief, and every image of the deity reflects the experience of the sacred and therefore carries within itself concepts of being, meaning, and truth."
The book covers the period from the magical worlds of the Stone Age to the religions of ancient civilizations and the religion of biblical revelation: "At the most archaic levels of culture, living as befits human beings is in itself a religious act, because eating, sexual relations, and work have sacramental value."