Stephen Prothero

Stephen Prothero

Chair, Department of Religion, Boston University

"On Faith" panelist Stephen Prothero is Chair of the Department of Religion at Boston University and author of numerous books on American religion, most recently Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know--And Doesn't (2007). His American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon (2003) was named by Publisher's Weekly as one of the best religion books for 2003. His first book, The White Buddhist: The Asian Odyssey of Henry Steel Olcott (1996), was awarded the Best First Book in the History of Religions for 1996 by the American Academy of Religion. He has commented on religion on dozens of National Public Radio programs, and on television on CNN, NBC, FOX and PBS. A regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal, he has also written for The Washington Post , the New York Times, Slate Magazine, Salon , the Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe . Prothero can be reached through his website at http://www.stephenprothero.com. Close.

Stephen Prothero

Chair, Department of Religion, Boston University

"On Faith" panelist Stephen Prothero is Chair of the Department of Religion at Boston University and author of numerous books on American religion, most recently Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know--And Doesn't (2007). more »

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Say Something!

Two words: “Say something.” I can't tell you how many college students who grew up in interfaith households have told me that their parents kept mum on religion because they didn’t want to “impose” their beliefs on their kids.

This is ridiculous—not unlike abstaining from reading to your children on the grounds that they should be able to choose their own language when they grow up.

If you don’t talk with your children about religion, they will assume it doesn’t mean anything to you or (worse) that it doesn’t mean anything to anybody. So just say something. Tell them what Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or Diwali means to you. Tell them how you think God fits into that holiday. If you are confused about this--and who isn't?--fess up to your confusion.

In my home, daylight savings time is when you change the batteries in the smoke detector. If, like many Democrats I know, you find talking about religion an equally tedious chore, then why not think of the holidays as that time of the year when you sit down with your kids, read something from scripture, and have a chat about God? It's not as painful as it sounds.

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