Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know--And Doesn't | 
 enlarge | Author: Stephen Prothero
Publisher: HarperOne
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  79 reviews
Sales Rank: 62680
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.3
ISBN: 0060846704
Dewey Decimal Number: 200.71073
EAN: 9780060846701
ASIN: 0060846704
Publication Date: March 1, 2007
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Condition: former library book - very good condition - slight shelfwear
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Product Description
The United States is one of the most religious places on earth, but it is also a nation of shocking religious illiteracy. - Only 10 percent of American teenagers can name all five major world religions and 15 percent cannot name any.
- Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe that the Bible holds the answers to all or most of life's basic questions, yet only half of American adults can name even one of the four gospels and most Americans cannot name the first book of the Bible.
Despite this lack of basic knowledge, politicians and pundits continue to root public policy arguments in religious rhetoric whose meanings are missed—or misinterpreted—by the vast majority of Americans. "We have a major civic problem on our hands," says religion scholar Stephen Prothero. He makes the provocative case that to remedy this problem, we should return to teaching religion in the public schools. Alongside "reading, writing, and arithmetic," religion ought to become the "Fourth R" of American education. Many believe that America's descent into religious illiteracy was the doing of activist judges and secularists hell-bent on banishing religion from the public square. Prothero reveals that this is a profound misunderstanding. "In one of the great ironies of American religious history," Prothero writes, "it was the nation's most fervent people of faith who steered us down the road to religious illiteracy. Just how that happened is one of the stories this book has to tell." Prothero avoids the trap of religious relativism by addressing both the core tenets of the world's major religions and the real differences among them. Complete with a dictionary of the key beliefs, characters, and stories of Christianity, Islam, and other religions, Religious Literacy reveals what every American needs to know in order to confront the domestic and foreign challenges facing this country today.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 74 more reviews...
 Compulsory God Talk? No Thanks! July 28, 2008
Prothero's well-written and engaging polemic consists of three parts: Part One, "The Problem," Part Two "The Past," and Part Three "The Proposal" (i.e. Solution!).
In Part One he shows, in considerable detail, that despite all the God-talk of the past two decades, Americans of all stripes and convictions are woefully ignorant about religious matters. Even "fundamentalist" types are not really literate, not even in their own church's traditions (i.e. born-again Protestantism).
This may be regrettable, but does it really matter?
Prothero, of course, howls "Yes!," and tries to detail the ways in which "Religion Matters" (Chapter Two). To begin with, it's part of Pop "Culture": he cites the best-selling `novel' The Da Vinci Code, (as ignorant about Da Vinci as it is about Jesus, not to mention Catholicism and pre-Christian Judaism). Also, "Religion Matters" because it is part of Presidential Politics; he cites Jimmy Carter and the Iranian Revolution! And Religion Matters because it is part of the warp ands woof of American History: he demonstrates this with the usual "history" of Puritanism and so on in American History.
In Part Two, Prothero continues this historical thread and provides a congenial, disneyfied view of "the" American Past. Predictably, he ignores the fact that Quakers hated Puritans, Puritans hated Anglicans, and ALL three hated Catholics. He ignores the anti-Catholic impact of the Quebec Act on the coming of the "Revolution" in New England; and downplays the impact of anti-Catholicism in the Second Great Awakening in the 1830s + `40s. He ignores the fact that the KKK began as an anti-Catholic organization. And he ignores the fact that after the Civil War, Catholics too were more than willing to join a united "Christian" front against Jews; just as Jews are now perfectly willing to embrace the Judeo-Christian babble against "Islamism."
"The Proposal" which Prothero forwards to combat American ignorance in this area is, of course, "religious" classes in American public schools. It should be regarded as part of our "civic education," he says!
It's not feasible. And it's not important. Why? First: Because "religious illiteracy" is the least important of America's many current areas of woeful ignorance. Math and Science top that list. A basic ability to read anything above the level of a comic book would also be a quantum leap of greater significance that "Basic Bible Babble." Second: there's no evidence that the public purveying of God-talk, especially in politics, is indicative of more deeply-held personal "values." It's a cynical political ploy. Want proof? Look at the lying, mass-murdering buffoon in the White House. Prattling about "the Jericho Road" in his first inaugural didn't mean Dubya cared about the needy; it meant he was going to mug the Poor so he could give to the Rich. Running away on 9/11; ignoring N'Awlins during Katrina; refusing proper military equipment to troops in combat; blocking medical care to veterans of his religious "Crusade" ... Where's the principled Judeo-Christian ethic in all of that? I would haul Clinton over the coals on the same grounds but you get the point: God-Talk is NOT evidence of a "religiously inflected" public discourse in America, as Prothero would have us believe; it's proof of religiously CONTORTED rhetoric to please the so-called "fundamentalist" base; nothing more.
Despite Prothero's anti-intellectual disdain for what he erroneously calls "Eurosecularity," the evidence suggests that Europeans are in fact more knowledgeable about religion AND more likely to be sensitive to its nuances in foreign policy. 85% of Europeans didn't fall for Bush's lies about Iraq; 85% of Americans did! That should tell us something right there Mr Prothero.
ALL the evidence we have suggests that it's long past time for America to slough off all this infantile "religiosity". Prothero's frustration with his students' ignorance is understandable; but that's why he's there ... to teach them the God Talk, if they really want to know. As for the rest of us? No thanks. We'll pass!
 Entertaining and Informative Read July 14, 2008
Bought two of these and gave one as a gift. The information contained in this book created many a detailed discussion, and inspired me, at least, to continue digging for more resources on the subject.
Interesting, but incomplete July 13, 2008
Prothero's book is interesting, but incomplete.
The first half of his book, detailing the history of religious education in America makes a fairly convincing argument that some religious education should be included for the purposes of cultural literacy, but ignores the real problem with including instruction about religion in public schools: while teachers can be officially censured for using a classroom as a bully pulpit, students cannot, and they are most likely to cause problems. Students will bring up the specifics of their beliefs, and how it differs from the information presented, and will want to make an issue of it. In a college class, that's less of an issue, but given the limited time of a secondary class, and the lack of sophistication of many of the students, it's a fatal flaw.
In the second half of the book, the dictionary, he concentrates on the five major religions (Xtianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism), assaying into others for important concepts, but he ignores New Religious Movements (paganism, new syncretic faiths; also Native American traditions, voudoun, and santeria) in his concept of literacy, despite current and on-going questions regarding them in the public sphere. There are separate entries for the 250-year-dead founder of American revivalism, revivalism itself, and the first and Second Great Awakenings, but the only mention of New Religious Movements is a single line in the entry on Scientology. Given that members of Congress, even our current president, have weighed in on issues regarding the practice of these faiths in the military, this seems a fairly major omission.
 Important material to know and know about July 10, 2008
Dr. Prothero discusses a most important theme: that for a nation in which so many proclaim their faith, and in which religion immensely influences our politics, a great many people truly do not have their fundamentals down as to facts or understanding of key concepts of their professed religion. The text discusses surveys that his college class had conducted, and discusses (briefly) the history of religion in the U.S., from the Colonial Period to the modern day. He also includes a glossary of key terms and people. The text and glossary cover (in admittedly less detail) Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism, as well as the branches of Christianity. Highly recommended for those with an interest in sociology and U.S. history [my pet topics, admittedly]. Also for anyone wanting a better understanding of the roles of faith in this nation. -CLW
A good start - but a few holes. June 7, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The intention of the author is deserving of 5 Stars, but the follow through sneaks in at 3. The argument is compelling and well researched for the most part. The Glossary is something everyone should have on their book shelf - and yes, should be in schools. However the author left some big holes. 1. No mention of the Baha'i Faith - a faith based on religious harmony and understanding - oops. 2. no mention of New Thought (Religious Science, Divine Science, Christian Science and Unity Movements) a uniquely American born faith tradition that was born in the energy of Religious Literacy. A Huge omission for someone advocating such principles. oops. 3. No mention of Theologian Paul Tillich's call for theological formation on religious literacy in the 1960's. oops.
Overall - an important book - that missed the mark.
Clearly there are some things about American religious history that the author needs to know, and doesn't.
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