This book of signing was a gift, and the receiver was very happy when she got it.

One reviewer stated, "Elaine Costello isn't going to offer wrong signs!" but since this book as not been revised in 20 years, there are several signs that have simply fallen out of favor and are really no longer in use. Additionally, many concepts shown seem to favor an initialized signed English form of the sign. Yes, I do agree that no ASL dictionary can be exhaustive but the signs here seem to have been pulled from a limited geographic area (namely, the central east cost, New York, Washington, Maryland, etc.) Not entirely bad as many signs are used in many regions, but the signs used only in this area will not be useful to most. I also see a couple signs in the book that I would say are not only outside of common use but also conceptually inaccurate (e.g. Justification which is depicted as the concept of justice - as in judicial equality and fairness for all, not the forgiveness of all believers which is a different concept). Perhaps if this reference were revised, updated and maybe a arranged not only with an alphabetical glossary of each concept in English but then with each sign classified and listed by handshape, it would be a much improved resource. As it is now, I would not highly recommend it. Again, as many have said it does not address ASL grammar, but that is not the function of a dictionary and I find that to be acceptable.

Religious Signing, by Elaine Costello, is a great resource, especially for those who are beginners in Church signing. The book is layed out in alphabetical order, to assist the reader to quickly find the sign needed. I had hoped that the layout would be more like Costello's other signing resource book, Signing how to speak with your hands, which divides the terms into categories. However, this book is still a great beginning for those of us who work with Deaf in a religious atmosphere.