In our illiteracy and laziness, it might be easy to lump religions together, but it is not accurate or helpful. And to be sure, ignorance about religious differences has gotten America into hot water abroad, as we have struggled to navigate the deep differences between Shia and Sunni Muslims or understand the centuries-old conflict between Hindus and Muslims on the Indian sub-continent.

Prothero thinks this notion is both incorrect, disrespectful, and dangerous. On a more personal level, it allows us to avoid the care required in making religious choices. At a societal level, this untruth allows us to pretend to get along. They’re just different dressings on the same doll. According to him, in our collective religious ignorance many of us have come to believe the untruth that all religions are more or less identical.

Prothero is a professor of world religions and a prolific author on the topic. In his book, “God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World-and Why Their Differences Matter” (HarperOne 2010) Stephen Prothero aims to correct that myth. It is quite commonplace today to hear folks both ordinary and sophisticated comment that “all religions are basically the same.” Heck, even some religious people think that. The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World-and Why Their Differences Matter Book Report: “God Is Not One” by Stephen Prothero

God is not one stephen prothero pdf