Huston Smith

American scholar of comparative religion who wrote The World's Religions — the most widely used world religions textbook in the United States — and Forgotten Truth — arguing for the perennial philosophy's account of a common metaphysical hierarchy underlying all the world's major religious traditions.

Made comparative religion accessible to millions of American students — The World's Religions' respectful, empathetic account of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity became the standard introductory text, and Forgotten Truth articulated the perennialist case that these traditions share a common metaphysical structure.