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A review by sistermagpie
God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter by Stephen R. Prothero
5.0
I saw the author of this book interviews on TV, wanted to read it, and promptly forgot his name and the name of the book. But I finally tracked it down--go me!
God is Not One challenges an idea that's become synonymous with religious tolerance, the idea that all religions are just "the same" underneath. It's not about saying one religion is better than another, but looking at how each of the 8 most popular religions approach the problem of life and what solutions they offer. For instance, submission in Islam, salvation in Christianity, etc.
The book covers Islam, Christianity, Confucianism, Hindu, Yoruba, Buddhism, Judaism and Daosim, giving an introduction and a brief history of each one. It also ends with a brief note on atheism. At first I thought it was going to just focus on the angry New Atheists like Dawkins et al., but in fact the author stands up for the quieter, often female, voices in atheism who don't believe religion or the religious are stupid, or that they are the ones who know the truth.
I enjoyed reading about all of them!
God is Not One challenges an idea that's become synonymous with religious tolerance, the idea that all religions are just "the same" underneath. It's not about saying one religion is better than another, but looking at how each of the 8 most popular religions approach the problem of life and what solutions they offer. For instance, submission in Islam, salvation in Christianity, etc.
The book covers Islam, Christianity, Confucianism, Hindu, Yoruba, Buddhism, Judaism and Daosim, giving an introduction and a brief history of each one. It also ends with a brief note on atheism. At first I thought it was going to just focus on the angry New Atheists like Dawkins et al., but in fact the author stands up for the quieter, often female, voices in atheism who don't believe religion or the religious are stupid, or that they are the ones who know the truth.
I enjoyed reading about all of them!