Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know--And Doesn't (Hardcover)

~ Stephen Prothero (Author)
Key Phrases: religious literacy, literacy quiz, religious illiteracy, United States, New England, Supreme Court (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Prothero (American Jesus), chair of the religion department at Boston University, begins this valuable primer by noting that religious illiteracy is rampant in the United States, where most Americans, even Christians, cannot name even one of the four Gospels. Such ignorance is perilous because religion "is the most volatile constituent of culture" and, unfortunately, often "one of the greatest forces for evil" in the world, he writes. Prothero does more than diagnose the problem; he traces its surprising historic roots ("in one of the great ironies of…history, it was the nation's most fervent people of faith who steered Americans down the road to religious illiteracy") and prescribes concrete solutions that address religious education while preserving First Amendment boundaries about religion in the public square. Prothero also offers a dictionary of religious literacy and a quiz for readers to test their knowledge. This book is a must-read not only for educators, clergy and government officials, but for all adults in a culture where, as Prothero puts it, "faith without understanding is the standard" and "religious ignorance is bliss." (Mar.)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* The author of I^ American Jesus (2003) opens this important book with a paradox. To wit, Americans are deeply religious I^ and profoundly ignorant about religion; that is, one of the most religious countries is also a nation of "religious illiterates." Prothero calls religious illiteracy dangerous because religion is one of the greatest forces for good--as well as evil--in the world. Nowadays, standing on shaky religious ground can be literally a matter of life and death. To cite two brief examples of America's religious illiteracy: only half of American adults can name one of the four Gospels, and 10 percent of Americans believe that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife. Prothero defines religious literacy--what it is, and what it is not. He also discusses the two great religious revivals in U.S. history, the Second Great Awakening of the nineteenth century and the postwar revival of the 1940s and 1950s. He argues both the constitutionality and the necessity of teaching--with an emphasis on spreading knowledge, not inculcating values--about religion in public schools and higher education. He suggests that every U.S. public high school should require a course on the Bible and another on the religions of the world. And he devotes an entire chapter to "a modest list" of a hundred or so religious terms that he deems essential, from I^ Abraham to I^ Zionism, to any American's religious knowledge. A must-read on its subject. June Sawyers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne; First Printing edition (March 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060846704
• ISBN-13: 978-0060846701
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #247,427 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Religion 101, June 20, 2007

By	S. Porretta (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I saw this book discussed on "The Jon Stewart Show" and thought the premise was interesting. I share in the author's concern about the increasing religious illiteracy of our nation. It doesn't mean that you have to be religious to appreciate the value that religion has contributed historically and culturally. As the author states, you just can't be an educated citizen without knowledge of religion, especially in times like these when religion is infusing our politics be it from the Religious Right or from dangerous misconceptions that we have about Islam. In order to be a good "world citizen," you really do need to know about religion. That is the author's premise in a nutshell.

Now, having said this, the book is not exactly what I expected. It is divided into three parts, outlining what we used to know about religion starting from Colonial times, how we gradually inadvertently became increasingly illiterate about the subject, and the author's ideal proposal of how to get back our knowledge, which is a very ambitious proposal indeed. I enjoyed the first chapter or so where he discusses the extent to which Americans are illiterate about religion by citing startling statistical examples of misconceptions in the general public and humorous mistakes that students make in identifying Bible characters and stories. I also enjoyed the mini quiz that you can take to see just how illiterate you are.

However, with a title like the one this book has, I expected to be told outright just what it is we need to know about religion as is relevant to our times. I did not find this in the book except for the last chapter which is a dictionary of religious terms that the author believes are essential for us to know in our modern world. If only the entire book had been a discussion about this, I would have been more satisfied. It is more a history lesson about what we used to know and how we have lost that knowledge, but doesn't tell you really what you do need to know. So I found the title misleading.

The author does state clearly that the book is not a text on "Religion 101," but I wish it had been. Granted, I never read any reviews or even the description on the book beforehand - I just went on the title alone. But if only he had, for example, broken up the book into sections about topics that are relevant in the here and now, such as what Americans need to know about Islam (its holy book, major characters, teachings, and divisions). And another chapter on Christianity as far as divisions between Protestants and Catholics, about what different Protestant denominations believe, about morality and values, etc. All of these things are covered in the dictionary at the end of the book, but not so much in depth. This would have been different than just a "Religion 101" book because it would have dealt with religious topics and terms relevant to the here and now - indeed, it would have been an early 21st century primer on what we really need to know about religion to be educated world citizens in this day and age. That is what I had been expecting and I was disappointed that it was not.

311 of 378 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An argument for improving religious literacy, NOT a way to improve your own, March 26, 2007

By	Glen Ivey - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I didn't actually read this book--this review is about why I returned it to Amazon instead. After seeing an interview with the author, I bought the book expecting it to be a primer on the relationship between different religious forms, their practices, beliefs, etc. On receiving it, I discovered that the vast majority of the book is a (probably quite good) history of religious education in the US and a summary of its current state. Only one chapter of the book (admittedly the largest chapter) actually gives information actually about religion, and in an alphabetical, encyclopedic format rather than a narrative explanation.

If you're looking for a history of religious education and an argument for greatly expanding religious education today, please don't let this review stop you from buying. But if you're looking to educate yourself about (comparative) religion and beliefs other than your own, look elsewhere.

113 of 136 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why There Should be a Fourth "R", March 19, 2007

By	Noodlestorm "The More I Know, The Less Angry ... (Nevada) - See all my reviews

Reading, Writing, Arithmetic and Religion. When I was in elementary school, I often asked, "Why do I have to do this?" and "Why can't I just work on stuff I'm going to need in real life?" Now that I'm living real life as an adult, I see how essential things like Bible stories, nursery rhymes, learning to count money for my piggy bank and memorizing multiplication tables really are for life as an effective, functional, contributing adult citizen.

The author is able to engage the reader in the subject of religious studies, without being religious, self-righteous, or condescending. He brings up many more points about basic knowledge of facts and subjects that have been abandoned by the educational system that results in a less-than-informed citizenry and the dire consequences of a population that may end up voting against their own interests.

This is an excellent book, easy to digest and even easier to spread the word about. Read it, think about it and tell others.