Many believe that America's descent into religious illiteracy was the doing of activist judges and secularists hell-bent on banishing religion from the public square. Alongside "reading, writing, and arithmetic," religion ought to become the "Fourth R" of American education. He makes the provocative case that to remedy this problem, we should return to teaching religion in the public schools. "We have a major civic problem on our hands," says religion scholar Stephen Prothero. Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe that the Bible holds the answers to all or most of life's basic questions, yet only half of American adults can name even one of the four gospels and most Americans cannot name the first book of the Bible.ĭespite this lack of basic knowledge, politicians and pundits continue to root public policy arguments in religious rhetoric whose meanings are missed-or misinterpreted-by the vast majority of Americans.Only 10 percent of American teenagers can name all five major world religions and 15 percent cannot name any.The United States is one of the most religious places on earth, but it is also a nation of shocking religious illiteracy. The last chapter is a 100+ page dictionary of religious terms and basics that (except for a few glaring omissions, like 'justification' and 'salvation') can serve as a beginning point for becoming informed about this crucial element of American culture. Moving past just Christian thought, he addresses the need for major tenets of all major religions to be taught for students to have a fully-rounded education, and one which they can inform with necessary elements from religious beliefs of the majority of the world's population. Stephen Prothero, the chair of Boston University's religion department, proposes not religious instruction, but religious literacy for school students. Even worse, many teachers and professors either drag the Bible down to the level of manmade literature or keep dragging it down to where man can judge it rather than the other way around. Misuse of terms like 'Good Samaritan' and 'Armageddon' are just the tip of the iceberg.many Americans can't name half of the Ten Commandments.
But as American culture moves farther away from the authority of the Bible, many religious touchstones are getting lost on newer generations.
#GOD IS NOT ONE STEPHEN PROTHERO PDF FULL#
America has Christian roots, and the English language is chock full of references to biblical words, phrases, stories and concepts.
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