Critical Review of Books in Religion has two sections. The first section contains more extensive review articles dealing with several books and articles of interest. The second section contains shorter book reviews in several different categories. This year's review articles assess Macmillan's New Encyclopedia of Religion, a significant event in the field of religious studies and deserving of close examination. CR supplements the book review offerings of the Journal of Biblical Literature and the Journal of the American Academy of Religion by publishing reviews of books that would be of interest across the many sub-disciplines of religious studies, such as ancient Judaism, ethics, comparative studies, and the religions of Japan and China.