God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World Paperback - 2011

"This book could well be the most highly readable, accurate, and up-to-date introduction to the world's major religions." - Harvey Cox, Hollis Research Professor of Divinity, Harvard University, and author of The Future of Faith

In God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World, New York Times bestselling author of Religious Literacy and religion scholar Stephen Prothero argues that persistent attempts in modern theology to portray all religions as different paths to the same God overlook the distinct problem that each tradition seeks to solve. Delving into the different problems and solutions that eight major world religions like Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Confucianism, Yoruba Religion, Daoism and Atheism strive to combat, God is Not One is an indispensable guide to the questions human beings have asked for millennia--and to the disparate paths we are taking to answer them today. A necessary book for anyone interested in the future of interfaith dialogue, readers of Huston Smith and Karen Armstrong will find much to ponder in God is Not One.

In this essential work of religious studies, Prothero dismantles the myth of religious unity to reveal what truly defines each of the world's great spiritual traditions:

• A New Framework for Understanding: Go beyond superficial similarities and analyze each religion based on the unique problem it seeks to solve―from sin in Christianity to suffering in Buddhism.
• Why Religious Differences Matter: Understand why the stark distinctions in doctrine, ritual, and end goals between religions like Islam and Christianity are not minor details but are instead powerful, world-shaping forces.
• Comparative Religion in Action: Journey through the core beliefs and practices of eight global traditions, including not only major faiths like Judaism and Islam but also Confucianism, Yoruba Religion, and Daoism.
• A Challenge to Modern "Godthink" A powerful counterargument to the popular but misleading idea that all faiths are simply different paths up the same mountain, aimed squarely at readers of Huston Smith and Karen Armstrong.