Religions can be investigated in many ways—through their doctrines, their rites, the testimonies and lives of their adherents, and through the extent and pattern of their advance.

Another way is to look at the lives and accomplishments of their founders. This five-part series, Fathers of Faith, does just that, examining five of the world's major religions by focusing on the lives of Moses, Buddha, Confucius, Jesus, and Muhammad.

Each lived in an era and place of social and spiritual turmoil, times much in common with ours today. Each sought reform and attempted to change at least some aspect of the society as he found it.

The preeminent contributors to this collection discuss the life and times of these visionary figures and explore why the central insights of these men have endured and continue to profoundly influence human society to the present day.