This text provide a concise and comparative study of the art of the world's great religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Taoism. It illustrated the unanimity of traditional forms and symbols and explains how sacred art can be identified by style and method. Burckhardt believed that the function of sacred art was to lead men to true freedom - and the release of the spirit from earthly bonds. This can be contrasted with post-Renaissance art, with its progressive abandonment of the soul.