God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter [Hardcover]

Stephen Prothero (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 2010

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, dizzying scientific and technological advancements, interconnected globalized economies, and even the so-called New Atheists have done nothing to change one thing: our world remains furiously religious. For good and for evil, religion is the single greatest influence in the world. We accept as self-evident that competing economic systems (capitalist or communist) or clashing political parties (Republican or Democratic) propose very different solutions to our planet's problems. So why do we pretend that the world's religious traditions are different paths to the same God? We blur the sharp distinctions between religions at our own peril, argues religion scholar Stephen Prothero, and it is time to replace naÏve hopes of interreligious unity with deeper knowledge of religious differences.

In Religious Literacy, Prothero demonstrated how little Americans know about their own religious traditions and why the world's religions should be taught in public schools. Now, in God Is Not One, Prothero provides readers with this much-needed content about each of the eight great religions. To claim that all religions are the same is to misunderstand that each attempts to solve a different human problem. For example:

–Islam: the problem is pride / the solution is submission
–Christianity: the problem is sin / the solution is salvation
–Confucianism: the problem is chaos / the solution is social order
–Buddhism: the problem is suffering / the solution is awakening
–Judaism: the problem is exile / the solution is to return to God

Prothero reveals each of these traditions on its own terms to create an indispensable guide for anyone who wants to better understand the big questions human beings have asked for millennia—and the disparate paths we are taking to answer them today. A bold polemical response to a generation of misguided scholarship, God Is Not One creates a new context for understanding religion in the twenty-first century and disproves the assumptions most of us make about the way the world's religions work.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Exclusive: A Letter from Stephen Prothero

On my last visit to Jerusalem, I struck up a conversation with an elderly man in the Muslim Quarter. As a shopkeeper, he seemed keen to sell me jewelry. As a Sufi mystic, he seemed even keener to engage me in matters of the spirit. He told me that religions are human inventions, so we must avoid the temptation of worshipping Islam rather than Allah. What matters is opening yourself up to the mystery that goes by the word God, and that can be done in any religion. As he tempted me with more turquoise and silver, he asked me what I was doing in Jerusalem. When I told him I was researching a book on the world’s religions, he put down the jewelry, looked at me intently, and, placing a finger on my chest for emphasis, said, "Do not write false things about the religions."

As I wrote God is Is Not One, I came back repeatedly to this conversation. I never wavered from trying to write true things, but I knew that some of the things I was writing he would consider false.

Mystics often claim that the great religions differ only in the inessentials. They may be different paths but they are ascending the same mountain and they converge at the peak. Throughout this book I give voice to these mystics: the Daoist sage Laozi, who wrote his classic the Daodejing just before disappearing forever into the mountains; the Sufi poet Rumi, who instructs us to "gamble everything for love"; and the Christian mystic Julian of Norwich, who revels in the feminine aspects of God. But my focus is not on these spiritual superstars. It is on ordinary religious folk—the stories they tell, the doctrines they affirm, and the rituals they practice. And these stories, doctrines, and rituals could not be more different. Christians do not go on the hajj to Mecca; Jews do not affirm the doctrine of the Trinity; and neither Buddhists nor Hindus trouble themselves about sin or salvation.

Of course, religious differences trouble us, since they seem to portend, if not war itself, then at least rumors thereof. But as I researched and wrote this book I came to appreciate how opening our eyes to religious differences can help us appreciate the unique beauty of each of the great religions--the radical freedom of the Daoist wanderer, the contemplative way into death of the Buddhist monk, and the joy in the face of the divine life of the Sufi shopkeeper.

I plan to send my Sufi shopkeeper a copy of this book. I have no doubt he will disagree with parts of it. But I hope he will recognize my effort to avoid writing "false things," even when I disagree with friends. --Stephen Prothero

---

From Publishers Weekly

Expressing his astonishment, Prothero (Religious Literacy) arrives late at the party that has been celebrating for years the diversity and plurality of the world's religions. Although he is correct in asserting that an entire generation of scholars, teachers, and interested readers have claimed in the interest of religious tolerance that the world's religions were simply different paths to the same one God, such a claim functions as little more than a red herring in what is otherwise a useful introduction to the world's religions. Once past that assertion, Prothero sets up a helpful model for examining each religion on its own terms: he explores a problem that dominates the religion, the religion's solution to the problem, the technique the religion uses to move from problem to solution, and the exemplar who charts a path from problem to solution. For example, in Buddhism the problem is suffering; the solution is nirvana; the technique is the Noble Eightfold Path; and the exemplars are the arhats, bodhisattvas, and lamas. Despite his naïveté about contemporary interreligious dialogue, Prothero's survey is a useful introduction to eight of the world's great religions.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne; First Edition edition (April 20, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006157127X
• ISBN-13: 978-0061571275
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (82 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #87 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Sociology

More About the Author

Stephen Prothero is the New York Times bestselling author of Religious Literacy and chair of the religion department at Boston University. His work has been featured on the cover of Time magazine, Oprah, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, National Public Radio, and other top national media outlets. He writes and reviews for The New York Times Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Washington Post, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Salon, and other publications. He holds degrees in American Religion from Harvard and Yale.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

162 of 170 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prothero recognizes the beauty in religious differences, May 2, 2010

By 

Peregrinator - See all my reviews

This review is from: God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter (Hardcover)

I loved Prothero's last book, "Religious Literacy," and found his argument spot on -- that while the U.S. is one of the most religious countries on earth, Americans know next to nothing about their own religions and even less about the religions of others. In his new book, Prothero takes the natural next step and offers approachable chapters on each of the eight "great religions"(plus a coda on atheism), giving readers a clear and interesting way in to traditions beyond their own (and maybe even offering an opportunity to learn something about their own religion along the way!).

Prothero's main premise in "God is Not One" is to go up against what he calls "Godthink" -- the popular view that all religions are one. This view is visible not only among multiculturalists who say all religions are equally beautiful and true but also among new atheists who say that all religions are equally dangerous and false. Neither of these dichotomies work in today's world, in which religion plays such a huge role. Knowledge is power, and this book informs us so that we can see the great religions as they really are, not just as we desire them to be. There can be a beauty in recognizing the differences even more than just the similarities.

No doubt this approach is controversial among partisans of Huston Smith and Christopher Hitchens alike, but for the rest of us, this book probably offers the best discussion of the world's religions available. Though an academic, Prothero writes for the general readership, gives us stories that make up the rich stuff within religions, and helps us make the connections between these ancient traditions and contemporary politics, economics, and culture. Who knew that the Chinese government is rapidly turning to Confucianism (as opposed to Marxism/Leninism) as its official state ideology?

Highly recommended for religious and irreligious people alike.

364 of 408 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Feeling both Conflicted and Informed, May 5, 2010

By 

Ravi (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter (Hardcover)

I'm feeling a little bit conflicted on this. On one hand, I've had Steve Prothero as a professor. He's extremely intelligent and completely engaging - more so than any other college professor I've come across. Great human being in person too. I found the book to be fair and well-researched, definitely a clear and worthy introduction to many major world religions. His unique method of introducing the problem/ solution that each religion offers is fantastic. Christianity addresses sin through salvation, Islam addresses pride through submission, etc. For its content, I think this should be the standard introduction to world religions for any high school or undergraduate course. There is never a dull moment and he draws fascinating parallels and brings in interesting anecdotes. Further, the Professor makes a very valid point. In our politically correct world, people try to underplay important differences in doctrine, ritual, and worldview and paint all religions as one. Forget about disparity between religions, huge differences exist within religions: the God of Abraham is very unlike the God of Moses or the God of Second Isaiah. This is where the Professor makes a valid and important point - these religions are not the same, so we need to stop pretending they are! Not only is it false, but it's intellectually demeaning.

Now, here's where the conflict comes in. I completely disagree with the entire premise of the book, that "God is not one." In fact, the unity of Godhead is the one thing that all religions seem to share. The very definition of God itself presupposes an all-inclusiveness; if there is a God, God MUST be one. In the same way that Christopher Hitchens took on Islam's phrase "Allahu Akbar" with his book "God is not great" - Professor Prothero here seems to take on the Jewish phrase "Jehovah Echad" with this book: "God is not one." I noticed Huston Smith's biographer posted a defense of the perennial philosophy on here, which is a philosophy I find myself subscribing to on a very deep level. I think the issue behind the conflict is that people often confuse religion and God. God exists independent of religion. God may be one, but there is no doubt that the religions that attempt to reach God are very very different. However, just because particular religions have different opinions about God, does not mean that they are speaking about separate gods. Each person I meet has different opinions and conclusions about me, but that does not mean that there are multiple versions of me. I am one person. We cannot dismiss God's unity simply because various folks approach deity in unique ways.

All religions talk about two realms, the heavens and earth, matter and spirit, prakriti and purusha, etc. To truly understand God as he/she is we need to approach it on the spiritual realm, not the material realm. All that religions and rituals and even words can possibly discuss are in the material world. They are just the finger pointing at the moon, not the moon itself. As the Tao Te Ching says "The way that can be spoken of is not the constant way; the name that can be named is not the constant name." To the mystics, which were not deeply addressed in the book, there is a shared experience of a common underlying Reality because they reach God through the spiritual realms, not through material dogma, ritual, and myth. Jehovah and Vishnu are worlds apart, but the Kabbalistic Ain Soph and Vedantic Brahman are one in the same. So here, perhaps the better book title would have been "Religion is not One." Not as catchy, but perhaps more accurate.

Plus sides:
- Informative about major world religions
- Unbiased in portraying the good, bad, and ugly of various traditions
- Fun to read and not a dull moment, very engaging
- Great problem/ solution method - simple but not simplistic

Down sides:
- Focuses on mainstream religion, ignores the esoteric/ mystical paths
- Assumes religious differences mean God is not one

Recommendation:
Buy it. Even if you don't subscribe to the idea of "God is not one" - it will be a great and informative read, especially on lesser-known religions such as the Yoruba, Taoism, and Confucianism.

117 of 128 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good premise, but ultimately superficial and "chatty", June 11, 2010

By 

Tom Mott (Culver City, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter (Hardcover)

The initial premise is intriguing: Prothero want to disabuse us from the notion that all great religions are essentially the same--i.e., that Allah/God/Yahweh are just different names for the same deity, and "believers" are simply ascending different sides of the same mountain, but with the same ultimate goal).

The book does give a reasonably good overview of eight major religions, and I am thankful for some of his insights. For example, he discusses why a "Godless" religion (like Confucianism) deserves to be thought of as a religion and not just a systems of ethics. He also points out that someone can be deeply religious but in a quiet manner: A fire-and-brimstome evangelical preacher isn't necessarily *more* religious than, say, a quietly devoted Methodist.

But the book feels superficial. It reads like a professor giving an overview of religions for college freshmen, and wanting to keep it fun and fast paced: hoping to become their favorite professor. After each chapter, I found myself needing to turn to the Internet to read up on each religion for more information on the basic beliefs and practices of each.

Prothero writes in a chatty, "witty" tone which some may find charming, but I found annoying: as if he's worried the material will be too dry or too impenetrable for his audiences, so he funs-it-up and dumbs-it-down. Here are the first two sentences of the chapter on Buddhism:

"Buddhism begins with a fairy tale. Unlike Cinderella or Rocky, however, this is no underdog fantasy of someone who has nothing and gains the whole world."

Really? That's how we're going to begin an overview of Buddhism? And does he mean that Buddhism themselves think of the story of The Buddha as a fairy tale, or is that just his opinion?

The final chapter on atheism seems dashed off and dismissive. Take this sample sentence:

"After all, atheism is a religion of sorts, or can be. Many atheists are quite religious, holding their views about God with the conviction of zealots and evangelizing with verge."

After writing in depth about three non-theistic religions (Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism), it's odd that he then writes a "coda" about atheism at all, and then jumbles up theism and religion as analogous concepts.

He also tends to weigh the merits of each religion against his own personal experience, as if he's shopping for the best religion and trying to figure out which is the best fit. I feel like I know more about Stephen Prothero now than I do about the major religions.