Prothero's View Of Religion Essay

Since the birth of mankind, humans have found solace, and logic in believing in an entity greater than themselves. This “spirituality” has been one constant throughout the tumultuous history of humanity, and has shaped many aspects of human life. Religion, as some may call it, has been a topic of discussion in academia for hundreds of years. There is much debate within the field as to how to properly study and approach the subject. This has resulted in the creation of two, main schools in the study of religion. The first school being modernism, with members such as Huston Smith and Ninian Smart. The second school is called post-modernism, and its most famous member is Steven Prothero. However, due to the fact that religion is not an absolute science, it is impossible to determine the correct way to interpret the practice. Therefore, each school of

A leader in this field of study, is professor Stephen Prothero. Prothero’s view of religion has a cynical undertone, much like the public’s attitude regarding the subject. This pessimism is not unjustified if one looks to the recent, violent acts committed by radical religious groups. According to Prothero, these acts of violence are more likely to occur when society fails to distinguish the differences among religions. His views on the notion that all religions have commonalities are as followed, “This is a lovely sentiment but it is dangerous, disrespectful and untrue” (Prothero, God is Not One, pg.3). In many ways Prothero is the personification of common millennial ideals. He, like most of the youth population, rejects the preceding notion that the word “different” has a negative connotation. Prothero states that his book, “attends to the idiosyncrasies of each of the great religions…” (God is Not One, pg.14). The message of Prothero’s work is that religion is not abstract; that it effects every major aspect of the