God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World Paperback – May 3, 2011

Great seller, arrived in good shape and timely fashion. Everything we expected. Would buy again!

If you are a person that loves to learn and grow and therefore contribute more in life. Then this book will not only equip you but empower you too.This book tries and succeeds in reporting and describing the different religions in a factual adoring way. In how they are similar and different. In how they all have extremes and extremist and how they all have the mystical and ephemeral aspect. He dos a marvelous job talking about the values and beliefs, way of being exemplars in each one in a compare and contrast format but also in a high light manner as this book would be way too long otherwise. He succeeds in dice ting the different religions in terms of these term eloquently.He also points out that heaven, for some, is in the here and now and being human and doing human is the end goal. But also points to what some religions emphasize that here and now only matter to get to a different place. R that good conduct, social behavior, is in itself the key.There is a religious way of talking about religions which in a late night conversation at a bar can turn into a fight and then there is the secular an reporting way which this book exemplifies that allows one to not only experience and learn but also to question and evolve.Stephen is articulate and witty through out the book. I would highly recommend this book to only those that care about humanity and want to explore.Thank you for the brilliant bookJorge HenriquezMexico City

This is an enlightening and entertaining book. It would be a pleasure to be one of Professor Prothero's students. The thesis underlying the title, "God Is Not One", is spot on and conforms to my own experiences and observations as I've traveled around the world. Although some reviewers have taken exception with this thesis, it is one that is easily confirmed by simply asking people what they believe. In India, for example, I found many if not most Hindus believe in many gods and according to some as many as 330 million. In Hindu temples you often find Buddha and several of the Hindu gods worshipped side by side. In Indochina spirit houses abound alongside Buddhist temples. In Thailand, King Bhumibol is worshiped as a god. In Central Asia, Muslims pray to the sky god while warding off evil spirits through various rituals. Prothero aptly demonstrates how various gods are invoked throughout the major religions of the world. I found the chapter on the Yoruba religion, of which I knew very little, to be quite illustrative of his "God Is Not One" Hypothesis. Prothero is also spot on when he denies that differences among religions are likened to taking different paths up the same mountain. The Buddhist goal of nirvana, the Hindu goal of moksha, the Confucian goal of harmony, and the Christian goal of everlasting life are not the same. I agree with Prothero, that we are better off to recognize these differences so we can find ways to live in peace with one another. Prothero is also quick to point out, and I would agree, that in spite of the differences there is generally little to separate religions with respect to their ethical standards. The golden rule seems to apply across religious differences.So far so good, but to get to this point Prothero finds it necessary to reject the traditional definition of religion as the belief in a supernatural power and instead posits a four-step approach to defining religion: (1) a problem, (2) a solution, (3) a technique, and (4) exemplars. This allows him to include groups as diverse as Christians who believe in a god and a hereafter and the billion plus "Confucianists" who don't believe in a god, a hereafter, or wouldn't even think of calling themselves "Confucianists." He goes further to include also atheism as a religion although ironically, here he uses the term "religion" pejoratively, as some religious people are prone to do, to minimize and dismiss Atheism's contribution to the world's cultural and intellectual history. He alleges, "Atheisim is not a great religion. It has always been for elites rather than ordinary folk. And until the twentieth century, its influence on world history was nonexistent as Woody Allen's god." Wow, can he actually be serious. Where's the scholarship behind this outrageous statement. For those interested in some excellent scholarship in this area, I would recommend "Doubt - a History" by Jennifer Michael Hecht. If Prothero can define Confucianism and Atheism as religions, why not Capitalism, Communism, Maoism, Hedonism, American Elitism or any other -ism. They all identify a problem, a solution, a technique, and have exemplars up the yin yang. In fact, it's hard for me to imagine what human enterprise would fall outside his four-step definition of religion and, I guess, Prothero may be suggesting the same when he has his students create their own religions, supposedly following his criteria.It's not just that his definition of religion is too broad; it also leads to the wrong conclusions. By defining Confucianism and Atheism as religions, he's throwing a deaf ear to the billions of non-believers and doubters and the tremendous influence they have had throughout world history. He literally cuts this line of inquiry off when he states in his introduction, "...nine out of every ten Americans believe in God, and, with the notable exception of Western Europe, the rest of the world is furiously religious." Of course, the world is "furiously" religious if any definition of god or human activity can be assumed by his four-step criteria. I want to ask, are the nine out ten Americans surveyed referring to the god of Thomas Jefferson who as a professed Epicurean saw god as not having an active role in our lives or the god of crusading Evangelists who see God's handiwork everywhere? Having been brought up in a fundamentalist family, it often surprised me to encounter Christians who do not believe in miracles, Christ's resurrection, or his virgin birth. Like Jefferson, to us these were non-believers, deists, or in the technically correct parlance of today atheists. In China where the majority of people I met did not seem comfortable referring to themselves as atheists, they had no problem stating that they did not belong to a religion or believe in a god. Here, it should be pointed out, as Prothero himself acknowledges, not even the Chinese government considers Confucianism a religion. So then, why has he? One final example, in the former Central Asian soviet countries where about 80% of the population is Muslim I saw little evidence during the month of Ramadan of the Muslim faith in practice. "Muslim light" is what some called it. Are these non-practicing Muslims actually Muslims? Prothero has no qualms in assuming that they are although he acknowledges that each religion has its non-believers, but then fails to plumb the depth and breadth of this phenomenon and as a result ends up drawing the wrong conclusions. I submit that had he used the traditional definition of religion, he would have found that the world is largely non-religious and that this has had a positive moderating influence on the religious extremism that continues to threaten the world today. This criticism aside, I feel obligated to give the book four stars because it moves the discussion of world religions in the direction of understanding and self-examination. Professor Prothero should be applauded for that.

As mentored by Huston Smith from a young age, I felt it was time to look again. I was in high school in the second half of the 1950's and Huston was teaching at Washington University (an early period in his illustrious life's work). His passing from this life (age 92) which he loved has not diminished my admiration or finding knowledge in his words and writings. His life was full of light and it enriched his positive view that he shared with others; but he was not unaware of the darker side that historically existed but never clouded his belief that he should focus on the common good of all the world's religions. This book lays bare the major problems inherent in following Islam, Christianity, Judaism -- the three major "Abrahamic" faiths, As well, there is an analysis of the inherent problem of suffering taught by The Buddha. Less you think this book is totally negative, the author shares the solution to each so that followers may seek growth in their own spiritual life's Journey.

In God Not One, Prothero advocates for religious literacy and acknowledges how an understanding of the world’s rival religions allows one to become better citizens of the world as well as better human beings in the world. A very informative read.