Book Review: God is Not One

An interesting book!

We take a break from our regularly scheduled programming to speak at some length now about a book that got me thinking about my beliefs or faith (or lack thereof).

Stephen Prothero's "God is Not One" is the kind of counter-argument in the face of the prevailing conventional wisdom that wakes you up like a strong cup of coffee on a bleary morning.

His central thesis is that for all the analogies ("many paths up the same mountain" or "different pieces of the same elephant") being tossed around to describe world religions as being essentially the same, they are in fact very different from each other! They address different central dilemmas, and don't line up in a neat row as those focusing on their commonalities would like. This is a bold idea, and very relevant to our times. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I found myself agreeing with it; it brings a clear-eyed approach to a field that suffers too often from an excess of either fanaticism or romanticism.


Religions, and their concepts for the 'system of the world' (not always including a 'God' by the way) are very different things. This may not help the Utopian cause of world peace and harmony that some opinion makers desire, but it is not necessarily a bad thing.

Questions regarding the 'nature of reality' and the existence of God (or gods) are ones that I have thought long and hard about, as many have. I also took the additional steps of trying to actively learn about religions other than the one I was born into (Hinduism). I've therefore dabbled in reading the Holy Bible, the Quran, various other scriptures, and some commentary on such writings. Growing up, I followed the arc of going from a Questioner to a somewhat rabid Atheist, to settling on Agnosticism. I realized over time that it wasn't so much that I didn't have an opinion or that I wasn't curious about these things any more - it was simply that I couldn't bring myself to care about them as much as I used to.

I have come to find proselytizers from any religion as irritating as I do the New Atheists - the likes of Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins - because they seem to be two sides of the same coin. Each side is convinced of the morality and correctness of its position, and holds the other in contempt, deriding the opponent whenever possible. My stance these days is, that the stark choice between faith and atheism is a false one. Surely, this subject more than any other allows for a broad spectrum of opinion - nuanced opinion, informed by each person's own life experiences?

I have no problem with people subscribing to a faith - so long as they don't dangle it in my face, or require my affirmation and/ or subscription. My own beliefs have become the most private part of my thoughts; they are ever evolving and remain hard for me to pin down and describe, and shall stay that way.

This was perhaps one reason I found Prothero's book enchanting. He goes the route of describing eight of the worlds great religions - Islam, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Yoruba Religion, Judaism, and Daoism (plus Atheism as a bonus 'ninth') - without a hint of judgment or personal bias. This should appeal to the faithful as well, given the respect accorded each faith. Atheists will be peeved no end by this book however, since it fittingly puts them in the same bucket as their bête noires!

I consider myself reasonably well-read on at least four or five of the religions named and yet the book gave me good insights about them that I did not have before. I think these insights come from the comparative approach the author takes, and the fact that he takes a step back and looks at each religion within the sociopolitical climate it came into being in. The book highlights the differences between each religion quite well and in so doing, makes a strong case for the central argument. There is a coherent narrative thread through the book, and it doesn't read like a set of unrelated chapters - this is a relief!

A good example of the book shedding new light on a familiar subject was in how it brings out the differences between the Abrahamic religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. I have often made the mistake of lumping together these three 'cousins' given their involved and lengthy history. Yet - they are nothing alike!

Judaism is described in the book as being a narrative (a story) and a set of laws, focused entirely on living a life of 'good'. Christianity of course, is about salvation - about sin and redemption from it, and judgment and after-life. Islam on the other hand is about submission, and about living in accordance with the will of the Almighty. These faiths may have many stories and antecedents in common, but they are all trying to achieve very different things for their adherents.

The content on Confucianism and the Yoruba religion was completely new information to me for the most part, but I have to say the section on Yoruba dragged a bit for me and I actually skipped (gasp!) about a quarter of that chapter and leaped ahead. This is primarily because the section on Yoruba is for the most part a listing and description of all the deities (Orishas) in the Yoruba pantheon, and really for someone like me, being steeped in Hindu and Greco-Roman myth, pantheons are run of the mill boring now.

This said, there were some sections I found myself wishing were longer. I felt one or two religions were not given the kind of detailed treatment that others got, but that is just me quibbling.

The closing portions for the book comprise a review of Atheism and a somewhat rambling (I thought) summary of the point the author was trying to make. In the Atheism bit, I felt like the book was voicing exactly what I think when I read the likes of Hitchens. In the closing portion... well, I confess I lost interest again, or was perhaps in a hurry to write up this review, and so I will go have to go back and re-read it sometime. No loss there though; as far as I was concerned the author had already made his point in his opening salvo and throughout the descriptive chapters that preceded the last one.

To close this review, I can only say this book was well worth the money I spent on it (I bought the Kindle edition for $11.99). The fact that the author is a Professor of Religion at Boston University shines through in this informed yet lucid read which gives you a lot of information without ever dumping on you.

Put on your thinking hats and go buy a copy now!