{"id":9487,"date":"2022-02-08T14:17:45","date_gmt":"2022-02-08T18:17:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/religion\/?post_type=profile&p=9487"},"modified":"2025-04-30T11:32:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T15:32:12","slug":"stephen-prothero","status":"publish","type":"profile","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/religion\/faculty\/stephen-prothero\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Prothero"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stephen Prothero was the C. Allyn and Elizabeth V. Russell Professor of Religion at Boston University, specializing in American religions. He received his BA from Yale College in American Studies and his MA and PhD from Harvard University in the Study of Religion.<\/p>\n

A historian of American religions, Professor Prothero has written a dozen books, including The White Buddhist: The Asian Odyssey of Henry Steel Olcott <\/em>(Indiana University Press, 1996), which won the Best First Book award of the American Academy of Religion in 1997, and American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon <\/em>(Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2003), which was named one of the top religion books for 2003 by Publishers Weekly. Two recent projects are the New York Times bestseller Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know\u2013and Doesn\u2019t<\/em> (HarperOne, 2007) and God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World and Why Their Differences Matter <\/em>(HarperOne, 2010).<\/p>\n

In addition to his scholarly work, which includes peer-reviewed articles in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion<\/em>, Prothero has written for a variety of popular magazines and newspapers, including the\u00a0New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Newsweek, Slate, Salon, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times<\/em> and Boston Globe<\/em>. He has commented on religion on NPR and on such television programs as The Colbert Report<\/a>, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart<\/a>, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The O\u2019Reilly Factor, and The Today Show.<\/p>\n

Visit his personal web site at http:\/\/www.stephenprothero.com<\/a> or follow him on Twitter<\/a> at sprothero<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Current CV<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>Books<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"51y1N3HbSxL._SX335_BO1,204,203,200_\"<\/a>Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars (Even When They Lose Elections): The Battles That Define America from Jefferson\u2019s Heresies to Gay Marriage<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/em>By Stephen Prothero<\/span>
\nHarperOne
\nJanuary 2016
\nBy it now from <\/span>Amazon.com!<\/a><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\"Prothero_The<\/a>The American Bible: How Our Words Unite, Divide, and Define a Nation<\/a>
\nBy Stephen Prothero
\nHarperOne
\nMay 30, 2012
\nBy it now from Amazon.com!<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"godisnotonecopy\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World\u2013and Why Their Differences Matter<\/a>
\nBy Stephen Prothero
\nHarperOne
\nApril 20, 2010
\nBuy it now from Amazon.com!<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/a>Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know \u2014 And Doesn\u2019t<\/a><\/em> By Stephen Prothero
\nHarperSanFrancisco
\nMarch 1, 2007
\nBuy it now from Amazon.com<\/a>!<\/p>\n

<\/a>American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon<\/em><\/a>
\nBy Stephen Prothero
\nFarrar, Straus and Giroux; 1st edition
\nDecember 15, 2003
\nBuy it now from Amazon.com<\/a>!<\/p>\n

<\/a>The White Buddhist: The Asian Odyssey of Henry Steel Olcott (Religion in North America)<\/em><\/a>
\nBy Stephen Prothero
\nIndiana University Press
\nApril 1, 1996
\nBuy it now from Amazon.com<\/a>!<\/p>\n

<\/a>Asian Religions in America: A Documentary History<\/em><\/a>
\nBy Stephen Prothero, Thomas A. Tweed
\nOxford University Press
\nNovember 1, 1998
\nBuy it now from Amazon.com<\/a>!<\/p>\n

<\/a>Purified by Fire: A History of Cremation in America<\/em><\/a>
\nBy Stephen Prothero
\nUniversity of California Press
\nNovember 4, 2002
\nBuy it now from Amazon.com<\/a>!<\/p>\n

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\"\"Religion Matters<\/em><\/a>
\nBy Stephen Prothero
\nW.W. Norton & Company
\nJuly 1, 2020
\nBuy it now from Norton<\/a>!<\/p>\n

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<\/a>Courses<\/h2>\n