Getting It, Then Getting Along: Understanding the world's five major religions

by L. Reynolds Andiric

Getting It, Then Getting Along
Understanding the World's Five Major Religions: Collaborative rather than Divisive

This is a book about the five religious philosophies and belief systems that the majority of the world's populations follow. It is not one that proselytizes or presents dogma with the intent to convince the reader of the rightness or wrongness of one system or one belief over another. Neither does it insist that one must be religious or even believe in God to be a good person. The book's purpose is to educate and provide an overview of the history, the evolution and the basic beliefs of those who practice one of the five religions.

For the most part, little is known about others' religious beliefs in that spirituality is usually derived from ones own culture and heritage. This lack of knowledge can often lead to misconceptions about religious systems not familiar to us. As a result, our opinions and attitudes may be affected toward those who believe differently than we do. Social media can also cause confusion when the originator of a post may have a specific "agenda" and provide only the information that supports that purpose but is not objective or provide the whole truth.

With better understanding of others' religious beliefs, it is hoped that greater tolerance for religious diversity will develop and respectful discourse and interactions will result. If this is possible for religious diversity, it may also be useful for other human diversities. A focus of the book is to promote compassionate behavior when dealing with differences with an outlook that our variances can be advantageous and may, in fact, allow for resolution of some of the planet's most worrisome concerns. Different perspectives through different cultural lenses may together solve universal problems. The book further emphasizes that change begins with each individual and one by one as more tolerance, more respect and greater compassion toward others occurs; our world will become a kinder, gentler place.

After a beginning chapter that gives reference to many unfounded prejudices and misunderstandings that have led to today's intolerance and violence, each of five subsequent chapters focuses on one of the five major religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhist. From the advent of each belief system to how each religion is practiced today, the history and basic tenants of each religion are presented. Finally, it is left to the reader to decide if the commonalities of the religions described are not greater than their differences.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help

243 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2020

About the author

Linda Reynolds Andiric grew up in northern Ohio where she graduated from Kent State University with a B.S. in biology and chemistry. She worked at the Cleveland Clinic in the medical laboratory before living abroad in Scotland, Denmark and Germany. Upon return to the U.S., she married and had a son, but then ultimately settled in St. Augustine, Florida where she adopted a daughter from Vietnam and worked as the administrative and technical director of medical laboratory/pathology services at an acute care hospital. Later, after earning her doctorate in educational leadership, she became affiliated with the American Society for Clinical Pathology and the CDC and worked as a consultant in Global Health where she wrote curricula to teach medical laboratory quality management in Africa, Asia, Haiti, Guyana and Ukraine. During this period she began to write regularly and published a memoir Living with heart.

Fascinated with differing spirituality and religious beliefs throughout the world and dismayed at the discord and violence as a result of misunderstandings concerning religion, she wrote Getting it, then getting along. This, her latest book, is a treatise of the world’s five major religions explained in laymen terms and written with the hope to resolve misunderstandings and foster collaborative attitudes as opposed to combative, violent reactions prevalent today. In addition to explaining the origins, the evolution, the beliefs and the current practices of the five religions, the author suggests ways and practices to develop tolerance and respect for others’ beliefs.

Reviews

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have it two stars pretty much just because of the concept and intention of the book. The actual execution was atrocious. The regular citing of Wikipedia as a source was concerning, and the writing and layout was so dry. J much rather would have preferred a small summary of each religion and then delving into overlaps to drive the point home rather than just dryly summarizing each religion individually as the author did.

[Ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

If everyone would read this, I believe the world would be a better place. The interesting and intricate descriptions of the 5 religions was really inspiring and intriguing. I would argue that this author should write many more books on the various subtypes of religions because this was incredible and very awakening.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

PLEASE NOTE: I received an ebook copy of this title from a GoodReads giveaway. The opinions held in this review are my own opinions.

This is a pretty solid survey of the five major worldwide religions written for regular people to understand. It could use a bit more editing because some of the sentences seems convoluted and were difficult to understand well.

[Randi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fine primer of the five main religions. If you're familiar with them, this book does not explore anything really new. But for a beginner or someone who wants to know more, this is a nice place to start.

[L. Andiric · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book explains, in laymen terms, the five religious belief systems that the majority of the world’s populations follow. It is not a book that proselytizes or presents dogma with the intent to convince the reader of the rightness or wrongness of one belief over another, but rather with better understanding of others’ religious beliefs, greater tolerance for religious diversity will develop and respectful discourse and interactions will result. If this is possible for religious diversity, it could also be useful for other human diversities. A focus of the book is to promote compassionate behavior when dealing with differences with an outlook that our variances can be advantageous and may, in fact, allow for the resolution of some of the planet’s most worrisome concerns. Different perspectives through different cultural lenses may together solve universal problems. The book further emphasizes that change begins with each individual and one by one as more tolerance, more respect and greater compassion toward others develop, our world will become a kinder, gentler place.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an excellent overview for those who are looking to better understand the five major religions across the world: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.
The author does a great job of showing the main beliefs and practices of these religions in a very matter-of-fact way, not trying to sway the reader in any way. There is a clear theme of showing how these religions have very similar beliefs and themes, especially ones of compassion and the "Golden Rule."
I recommend this book to all types of readers, and especially those who want to better understand the people and world around them.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that so many nowadays need to read. With the levels of intolerance growing in recent years, it is important to educate ourselves that while there are differences between "us", the fact is we have much more in common with each other than not. And honestly, we should not assume that the majority of a group is aligned with the extremists in said group, a d all have their extremes.
While we should celebrate our diversity, we should also recognize our similarities.