Belief in one God is the cornerstone of all religions," wrote Gandhi, and decades later the idea remains widespread that all religions teach essentially the same thing. Those afflicted with this notion either lack knowledge of the maddening differences among the religious traditions of the world or think that the differences amount to nothing more than cultural and linguistic variations on the same spiritual truth (if they like it) or pernicious falsehood (if they don't).

Now Stephen Prothero, a specialist in American religions at Boston University, has written a spirited and highly accessible volume to challenge this common misconception head-on. Against the notion of universal monotheism Prothero points to forms of Buddhism that have no god and of Hinduism that have thousands and observes the opposite natures that different gods actually have, ranging from violent to mild-mannered, from personal to impersonal, from male to female (or even both), and, for that matter, from describable to utterly indescribable. To Prothero, this dizzying diversity of religious phenomena gives the lie not only to Gandhi's myopic formulation but also to the more subtle and substantial argument of scholars like Huston Smith, who wrote that "differences in culture, history, geography, and collective temperament all make for diverse starting points . . . But beyond these differences, the same goal beckons." As Prothero sees it, the religions of the world, despite some commonalities, are different all the way down—and all the way up.

Access to the item you have requested requires a subscription to Jewish Review of Books. If you are a subscriber, please enter your e-mail address and password below to log in. If you are a print subscriber and have not yet activated your online access, please click here to do so now. If you are not yet a subscriber, you may click here to subscribe, and receive both the print journal by mail and complete online access to our site.

E-mail Address
Password
	Forgot password?   Set-up Account