Stephen Prothero
One of America's Foremost Experts on Religion
Though America is deeply religious, Americans know shockingly little about religion. Without a grasp of religions, we are ill-equipped to understand world affairs or the motivations of our political leaders. Stephen Prothero—“a world religions scholar with the soul of a late night comic” (Newsweek)–offers an illuminating corrective. Book SpeakerIn his latest book, The American Bible: How Our Words Unite, Divide, and Devine a Nation Stephen Prothero considers lesser known texts that have sparked our war of words and informed our national identity. In his provocative book, Religious Literacy, Stephen Prothero addresses a national crisis—that religious ignorance is not bliss—and offers solutions. One of them is mandatory academic study of world religions in public schools. The more that Americans know about religion—whether or not they themselves are religious—the less likely they will be to defer, through sheer ignorance, to politicians who often frame their actions in a religious context. In his book, God is Not One, Prothero looks at the differences between religions and how they have shaped the world.
Can citizens understand the War in Iraq without knowledge of Islam? Can they debate gay marriage or stem-cells without knowledge of the Bible? In his talks, Prothero shows us that Americans don't know much about their own religions—much less those of others. He then makes an elegant, timely argument for why religion must become the "fourth R" of education. Only by teaching students in high school and in colleges about the Bible and the world's religions (in an academic sense), can we equip them to understand American politics and world affairs. An intelligent, engaging presenter, Prothero presents a balanced understanding of one of the most highly charged issues of our time.
Prothero is a Professor of Religion at Boston University. He earned his PhD in Religion from Harvard, and is a specialist in Asian religious traditions in the United States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Smithsonian Institute's Museum of American History. He is a regular contributor to CNN.com's Belief Blog. He is also the author of American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon, is a frequent guest on NPR, has appeared on The Today Show and The O'Reilly Factor, and has written for Salon.com and The New York Times Magazine.
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God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World - and Why Their Differences Matter
Are the world's religions different paths up the same mountain? This is doubtless the prevailing sentiment. But, as Stephen Prothero persuasively argues, this sentiment is naive, dangerous, and untrue. In this talk, he provides a timely and indispensable guide to understanding the great religions, from Islam (which he ranks as the most influential) to Daoism (the least). What makes each tick? What are the similarities between them? But more importantly, what are the differences? It's on this last point -- the differences -- that Prothero offers the greatest illumination. He is convinced that the way to real and enduring interreligious understanding, especially after 9/11, lies not with "pretend pluralism," but with a clear-eyed knowledge of religious difference. Prothero has appeared on the Colbert Report, taught a course about religion on Twitter, and routinely uses New Yorker cartoons to get his point across. In other words, he can speak, with both deep intelligence and broad accessibility, about religion for a mass audience.
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The American Bible: How Our Words Unite, Divide, and Define a Nation
Based on his book, The American Bible: How Our Words Unite, Divide, and Define a Nation. Since Thomas Jefferson first recorded those self-evident truths in the Declaration of Independence, America has been a nation that has unfolded as much on the page and the podium as on battlefields or in statehouses. Here Stephen Prothero reveals which texts continue to generate controversy and drive debate. He then puts these voices into conversation, tracing how prominent leaders and thinkers of one generation have commented upon the core texts of another, and invites readers to join in.
Few can question that the Constitution is part of our shared cultural lexicon, that the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision still impacts lives, or that "The Star-Spangled Banner" informs our national identity. But Prothero also considers lesser known texts that have sparked our war of words, including Thomas Paine's Common Sense and Maya Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial. In The American Bible Christopher Hitchens weighs in on Huck Finn, and Sarah Palin on Martin Luther King Jr. From the speeches of Presidents Lincoln, Kennedy, and Reagan to the novels of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Ayn Rand—Prothero takes the reader into the heart of America's culture wars. These "scriptures" provide the words that continue to unite, divide, and define Americans today.
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