A DYNAMIC NARRATIVE BUILT AROUND STORYTELLING

Each religion tells its own story, many so powerful that they have lasted millennia, providing religious adherents with their foundational identities as well as their core beliefs and practices. With vivid prose Prothero makes these stories fresh and accessible for today’s students, promoting critical engagement and comparative analysis along with a more empathic understanding of the world’s religions.

CULTIVATES RELIGIOUS LITERACY BY EMPHASISING THE UNIQUE GOALS OF EACH RELIGION

Many introductory texts emphasise what is common among all religions, potentially giving students a false impression that all religions share common spiritual truths. Without neglecting connections between traditions, Religion Matters focuses much more on what makes each religion distinct—how each has its own problem to solve, and how the solutions to these problems came to be understood and practised.

HIGHLIGHTS THE GREAT INTERNAL DIVERSITY WITHIN INDIVIDUAL RELIGIONS

The uniqueness of each religion often comes into sharpest focus by examining differences among its adherents. Through a clear presentation of the major features of individual religions and an engaging analysis of the diverse beliefs and practices within those traditions, students are encouraged to avoid “essentialism” by thinking critically about common generalisations and by connecting foundational principles of a religion to the wide variety of beliefs and practices of its modern-day adherents.

RESOURCES THAT BUILD UNDERSTANDING AND BRING RELIGIONS TO LIFE

In order to think critically about religious similarities and differences, students need to understand foundational concepts. Our innovative digital tools help to achieve that goal. Developed by a team of expert teachers working in close collaboration with Stephen Prothero, Religion Matters delivers the most tightly integrated, pedagogically valuable resources available.