Here is a monument to the current state of the academic study of religion. Thousands of pages of entries, most of them of the highest quality; yet a few slips remain. Typos abound, but I've found none confusing so far.
The articles maintain a very high standard. I've read a few dozen; the worst complaint I can make so far is that I feel the 2005 "further considerations" by Michael Winkelman regarding "Shamanism" ought to describe (even if only to refute) criticisms of Eliade. The bibliography of that subject does not even mention Ronald Hutton's excellent 2001 book "Shamans."
Henry Le Roy Finch's article (from 1987) on "Epistemology" includes the interesting observation, "In attempting to escape the Scylla of fideism, in which knowledge ultimately has no place at all in religion, Western religions have always been in danger of running afoul of the Charybdis of gnosticism, in which there is no need or room for faith. And behind these doctrines lurk the still greater dangers of atheism and pantheism, as well as gnostic dualism" (p. 2819). I suspect gnostics, atheists and pantheists would like Finch fo find a better way to describe them. Dangerous? Based on the rest of the article, I am pretty sure Finch is only trying to describe a traditional Christian point of view. He only accidently sounds prescriptive, I think.
But so far those are my only fair complaints, and I am a picky reader in this area.
Obviously, no matter what I think, if you want the best scholarly reference on religion, this is it. It's no desk reference, but it's simply the best. I am very happy to have it in my home library, as I refer to it constantly. Curious about feminist theology? Fenelon? Ferghus Mac Roich? Festivals? Festschriften? Fetishism? Feurbach? Me too, sometimes.
On the other hand, for the cost, you might strongly consider some other options. Britannica's Encyclopedia of World Religions (1593392664) is the highest-quality single volume reference I know: the scholarship as good or better than the ER, and the illustrations more abundant. I'm also very pleased with a volume titled "Religions of the Ancient World," (0674015177)--although the title misleads because only Mediterranean and Near Eastern ancient traditions.
You might also consider volumes the series on World Spirituality (ie 082451131X); though they are often hard to find, they are generally more accessible and opinionated than the ER.
I also recommend the Princeton Readings in Religion series (ie 0691044414).
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