Book Report: “God Is Not One” by Stephen Prothero

The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World—and Why Their Differences Matter

It is quite commonplace today to hear folks both ordinary and sophisticated comment that “all religions are basically the same.” Heck, even some religious people think that.

In his book, “God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World—and Why Their Differences Matter” (HarperOne 2010) Stephen Prothero aims to correct that myth. Prothero is a professor of world religions and a prolific author on the topic. According to him, in our collective religious ignorance many of us have come to believe the untruth that all religions are more or less identical. They’re just different dressings on the same doll. At a societal level, this untruth allows us to pretend to get along. On a more personal level, it allows us to avoid the care required in making religious choices.

Prothero thinks this notion is both incorrect, disrespectful, and dangerous. And to be sure, ignorance about religious differences has gotten America into hot water abroad, as we have struggled to navigate the deep differences between Shia and Sunni Muslims or understand the centuries-old conflict between Hindus and Muslims on the Indian sub-continent. In our illiteracy and laziness, it might be easy to lump religions together, but it is not accurate or helpful. The great world religions (and many smaller ones) not only have fascinatingly different histories, but they seek to answer different questions and address very different problems. Christianity, for one, is preoccupied with the problem of sin. Buddhism, the problem of suffering.

“God is Not One” thus follows a simple formula. Prothero summarizes each religion’s history, beliefs and practices. He discusses the ways these religions have impacted each other over the centuries, as none of them developed in a vacuum. He rehabilitates religions where he feels they need to be. Many would be surprised to know that Hindu is potentially the world’s oldest religion, or that the Yoruba religion even exists, let alone as one of the “eight greats.” And he criticizes their shortcomings where he feels he must, staying true to his opinions. Apparently, for example, he is not a fan of Confucianism, and the deference to authority practitioners are oftentimes expected to show.

Critical to Prothero’s work is his decision to organize these eight religions in order of greatest influence. This is clearly a subjective choice, and he makes the bold determination to put Islam at the top, with Christianity following. According to the author, while the 19th and 20th centuries belonged to Christianity, the 21st will belong to Islam. By birth and conversion rates he might be right, but it is still a provocative—although largely symbolic—decision, given that it is mostly a prognostication. I agree with Gospel Coalition reviewer Trevin Wax criticisms, read here. Not only is Prothero’s description of religions sometimes woefully simplistic (despite his attempt to highlight their complexities), but the author’s treatment of Islam vs. Christianity seems unbalanced. He appears concerned to prop up Islam’s more peaceful, moderate strands while he is perhaps not as generous with Christianity. I appreciate his attempt to remind readers of their Western (read: Christian) bias, but is it an over-correction?  I think maybe so.

It was in this respect that reading “God is Not One” was a challenge for me. I’m a committed Christian, and a pastor to boot. I’m on Team Jesus. It was thus hard not to read this book without feeling constantly defensive, arguing with Prothero’s description of Christianity or wishing that he had been more concerned to expose the uglier strands of other faiths. (Although I did appreciate his no-holds-barred critique of the fundamentalism of the new atheist movement, and his endorsement of its more open-minded strands.)

More importantly, though, the book reminded me of something that religious people like me can easily forget: ours is one faith in a world of many. Many of us practice the religion handed down to us by our parents and culture. If I had been born in Afghanistan, I would probably be a Muslim. If I had grown up in Nigeria, I’d probably be following the Yoruba gods.

This can be unsettling to religious people like me, as we are faced with what some believe is the accidental nature of our faith. The increasing religious pluralism of our world highlights the oftentimes subjective nature of our religious choices. Is it possible that I’m a Christian because I grew up in America? Is it possible that other religions are viable paths to God/gods/enlightenment/heaven? Is it possible that I would be better off a Hindu, in pursuit of “release from the cycle,” or a Muslim, given their insistence on submission? For people open to the idea that there are many paths to God, this is not really a problem. But for people who believe in the uniqueness and exclusivity of any faith, let alone that of Christianity, those can be disruptive questions to ask.

But they are good questions. Like I said, I’ve cast my lot with Jesus. Even while acknowledging the home-town nature of my belief system, I’ve thought enough about world religions to see something in Jesus I don’t see in other faiths: authority, resurrection power, spiritual truth, historical grounding. But as a follower of Jesus, my Lord insists that I remain humble. To be humble means to remember that I don’t know everything. It means that I could be wrong about God and probably am, in some respects. It means that I have much to learn from others—even about fundamental matters.

And on this point, “God is Not One” was helpful for me, when read with humility. I can love and follow Jesus as the revealed way to God, and still learn about other faiths. In our pluralistic world, it is almost a requirement that I do so. Even with my religious training, I knew scant about the Yoruba traditions and surprisingly little about the Muslim faith that my neighbors practice so devotedly. Each of these eight faiths reflect some basic religious impulse that all people have, and a desire to connect with others and the Other in a way that facilitates human flourishing. Prothero’s description of Buddhism, for example, reminded me that much of our suffering is self-imposed as we live enslaved by our desires. Eliminating desire is a key component to happiness. I can still follow Jesus and take a tip, there. At the very least, I need to be able to dialogue with others about their religious convictions with the same sincerity and understanding with which I would want non-Christians to show towards me. Jesus would expect nothing less.

In the end, “God is Not One” is a necessary, if imperfect, book. We who call ourselves religious might enjoy pretending that we’re basically the same, for the sake of some shallow notion of peace. But we’re not the same, nor are our gods. Differences matter—even and especially deep ones. It’s in those differences where we have the most to learn from one another, and where the hard work of living in a multicultural world must take place.

MRH (6/21/2019)