Religion Matters: An Introduction to the World's Religions

by Stephen Prothero

"Stephen Prothero's Religion Matters builds religious literacy through an expert's introduction to the greatest stories ever told. Religions are systems of stories, and there is no better way to engage with the world's religions than through the stories that animate their beliefs and practices. Through the exploration of these ancient histories, texts, and stories and their continuities today, Stephen Prothero, a New York Times bestselling author, gifted storyteller, and award-winning scholar and teacher, helps students grasp both the vibrancy of the great religions and their role in our fractured world. Covering Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Daoism, Confucianism, Navajo Religion, and Atheism, this book focuses on what makes each religion distinct without neglecting the connections between them"--

Genres: Religion, Read For School

Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 2020

About the author

Stephen Prothero is a professor in the Department of Religion at Boston University and the author of numerous books, most recently Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know—And Doesn't and American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Idol. He has commented on religion on dozens of National Public Radio programs and on television on CNN, NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS, MSNBC and Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. A regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal, he has also written for The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, Slate, Salon.com, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe.

Prothero has argued for mandatory public school Bible literacy courses (along the lines of the Bible Literacy Project's The Bible and Its Influence), along with mandatory courses on world religions. Prothero defines himself as a "confused Christian".

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent textbook. Covers Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Confucianism, Daoism, Native American religion, Yoruba religion (in second edition), and Atheism. Includes stories, history, beliefs and practices, great visuals, and a convincing explanation as to why “religion matters.” A wealth of info, with something for everyone. An inviting text that avoids perennialism (the belief that all religions are “paths up the same mountain”) and appreciates each religion’s uniqueness. I use this textbook as required reading for a World Religions class. (Prothero’s other books are excellent as well.)

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read "Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know--And Doesn't" and "God is Not One" before this, I already had a pretty good idea of what to expect with this textbook. However, I was very pleased to see that he has incorporated the facets of religious literacy proposed by Diane Moore--that religions are internally diverse, change over time, and embedded in culture (i.e. they shape and are shaped by the culture around them). While his previous efforts were all very good, this has enhanced his approach. Prothero is now interested not just in helping people understand certain "facts" about the religious (and irreligious) worldviews he presents, but he wants to help people understand each other's stories, beliefs, histories, and lived experiences (all sections in each chapter). This is essential to achieving interfaith understanding, cooperation, and collaboration in our globalized religiously diverse world. The text presents an academic religious studies approach to these worldviews and is no way an ecumenical effort (i.e. trying to find theological "least common denominators" or "essentialize" all religions into some sort of "common core"). In fact, Prothero eschews such approaches, because--as he points out in "God is Not One"--there are dangers to ignoring differences; rather we should learn to understand each other's differences and learn how to get along despite them (sounds a little like Elder Dallin H. Oaks' talk, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/s...).
I chose this as the textbook for my World Religions course at BYU-Idaho for the Winter 2021 semester, so we got all the digital/online learning resources as well. The members of the class and I were not disappointed. Using those resources was a way for us to focus our learning and prove our learning. While the structure of the text is very "textbook-ish", the writing style is more engaging than a typical textbook. Prothero wants to tell the "story" of each worldview he is writing about, so it is much more than just providing information, he explores how the stories, histories, etc. shape the worldview of adherents as he goes along.
So I highly recommend this book for teachers, students, and anyone else who really wants to get a better understanding of where your friends of other faiths, or no faith at all, are coming from.

[Arjen]

A concise text for what its trying to summarize, and a decent amount of skepticism is present by viewing traditions and religious ideas through more than a single perspective. The text understandably fails to capture religio-cultural elements sometimes, and it is rather U.S-centric in its presentation.

No rating. Read this one for a university course on world religions.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

From a teaching perspective, this textbook is detailed, quite nuanced, engaging, and innovative with its core framework. On the other hand, from a learning perspective (according to many of my students), it can be tedious and a bit confusing even for an introductory text. However, I take some responsibility in that as well— I do believe I can assign a more coherent selections for them to digest!

[Logan Knox · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has lots of valuable information about different religions. Unfortunately, the author's general outlook is pejorative and cynical, painting all of the religions essentially as imaginations. I also fact checked the introductory chapter several times, and the author was misleading on several points. However, it is essential to read the introduction, because it informs the reader that the book is a non-religious study of religion, as most world religions books should be. So, the lower stars are for the author's bias, cynicism, and incorrect and/or warped presentation of several facts and beliefs. However, there is a lot of useful information as well if the goal is to learn about other religions.

[Heather Hoyt]

Read large parts of this book for school.