Part one/Houston Smith-The World’s Religions

Part one/Houston Smith-The World’s Religions.

Houston Smith clearly states that even though he was teaching religions, he had other writing priorities. This implies that he didn’t like teaching about religions. He further argues that in many of the Pentecostal testimonial meetings, people always rise and testify with a typical format that entails three parts. In the first part, the one giving the testimony says: “No one was in the deep gutter as I was. ” In the second part, he says: “What happened was not one of my doing.” Then lastly, the punchline: “It all came from above.” Therefore, here Smith argues that religion testimonials always have a standard format.

The books’purpose is to expound more about listening and paying full attention to the well -defined themes of religion that are within the compass of a single book. The histories of these religions stretch back to thousands of years ago but are still motivating people today. He further argues that we should listen to them the same way we listen to the voices of the God-seekers when having fellowship. However, readers who don’t pay attention might be misled, thinking that Smiths’ textbook is about the history of religions (Segal, 2016).  This is because it omits names, dates, social influences, and it doesn’t even give a complete view of the doctrines that are considered as it talks about differences that are too numerous to be marked out in a single factor.

From my point of view, the book is doesn’t focus on the history of religions. It merely points out the facts about beliefs. As Houston Smith says, there are indeed Christian mystics and Christians who reject mysticism. Also, there are many Christian denominations around the globe, and some call themselves Jehovah’s Witnesses and some Christian Unitarians. One thing that’s for sure is that many people get acquainted with some faiths simply because hundreds of millions of people line with them.

In studying religions in the world, I will put my interest in knowing faiths in which many people around the world are acquainted with and why. I will also determine misleading religions and those who follow modern minds.

Part two/Jacob Neusner- World Religions in America

According to Jacob Neusner, Americans are very religious people. They believe in God’s presence. Interestingly, most religions in the world are practiced in America. It was proved in 2004 that the number of protestants in America is decreasing. This is according to the study that was released in 2004 by a National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. However, I didn’t imagine that religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Eastern Orthodoxy can exist in America.

It is impossible for one not to hold religion in America because even from colonial times, many groups from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, which joined in the adventure of building an American religious nation, achieved their goals successfully. Besides, Neusner states that every living religion in America is represented in a significant way and respected. America is different from other nations in terms of ethnic and religious diversity, as it has always been landed for immigrants. It contains different races. The different races come up with fresh and diverse ideas about various religious cultures (NA, 2016).

Protestant Christianity forms the most significant component of religious life in America because Protestant Christians were the founders of the earliest American settlements. Thus, Neusner addresses Protestant Christianity and gives it a special treatment as it is the most complex religion.

Religious insiders think about religious outsiders in four different ways: Firstly, they are exclusivists. They believe that their religion is not only accurate, but it is also the only truth. Secondly, they are inclusivists. They think that their faith is valid only to them and not to other people. Thirdly, they are pluralists. This implies that they feel that every religion has something genuine to tell them. They try their best to make sense of each of the ways of every religion. Lastly, they have a keen interest in other people.

This book has succeeded AUits purpose as it has addressed the various religions that exist in America, their setting, the way America is different in terms of faith, and it has given a guideline on how to study other religions.

Part three/Stephen Prothero- Religious Literacy

Religious ignorance affected me when I was growing up. As I grew up, I was ignorant about religion. I had no idea about religious crusades BEreligious camps, and any religious meeting at large.  because my parents weren’t religious at all. These adversely affected me until my early twenties. Spiritual ignorance is lethal since religion is an essential factor in life as it used in politics, international affairs, civil wars, office wars, and the economy. Thus, a nation with religious ignorance will be affected socially, culturally, economically, and politically (Alvim, 2014).

According to Hirsch, cultural literacy refers to ones’ ability to understand and take part in a given culture. Religious literacy, on the other, refers to ones’ ability to understand and take part in a given religion. These two relate because religion is a component of culture, which is the most volatile. In the corridors of power, there is Christian dominance, as 92% of the members in the realms of power are Christians. They first consult their religious beliefs before making decisions. Stephen Prothero argues that there are different types of religions, namely; Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Confucianism. Theology refers to the study of religions, beliefs, and leads of God, whereas religious studies relate to the education about religion. The knowledge about religion and religious beliefs is essential as it helps them to connect effectively. As pointed out earlier, religious literacy refers to the ability to understand and take part in a given religion. It is applied in understanding the world’s faiths, thus helping people in various religious denominations to relate well globally.

Conclusively, it is imperative to learn about religion in the world at large as religious illiteracy can thwart progress at different levels.