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Book Review: Do I Kneel or Do I Bow?
Akasha Lonsdale. Do I Kneel or Do I Bow? What You Need to Know When Attending Religious Occasions. London: Kuperard, 2010. 336 pages.
This book sets out to help people understand different religions, with an emphasis on the practical–how to behave at “religious occasions.” Written from a primarily British perspective, it covers eight religions: Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Orthodox Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Skihism, and Buddhism. Each religion’s section is divided into explanations of what its followers believe, what to expect in places of worship, the religious calendar (festivals and holiday), and rituals and ceremonies, with an additional glossary of important terms.
Overall, the book is adequate, giving readers a basic idea of what to expect when attending religious ceremonies. But it’s hampered by the author’s “one faith-many paths” approach, which is a bit misleading and possibly condescending. She claims, for example, that Hinduism “contrary to appearances, is a monotheistic faith,” (212) which seems a gross over-simplification, if not an outright distortion. It doesn’t square with what I’ve read about Hinduism in other comparative religion books, to say the least. Then again, it’s difficult to capture the nuances and complexities of any faith in a few paragraphs, ]so I’d take the book’s theological discourses with a grain of salt, and focus on the practical guide to how to behave.
Essentially, it all comes down to: do what others around you are doing (standing or sitting), and if in doubt, ask. This is sensible advice under any circumstances, but doubly so in a religious context.
I’m not enough of any expert in comparative religions to judge the book’s accuracy, but I noticed more than one error in the section on Judaism. For example, Lonsdale claims that all of the Jewish holidays “with the exception of Rosh Hashana” fall on fixed dates. “Confusingly,” she writes, “Rosh Hashana is celebrated in Tishrei, the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year.” I don’t understand how this is confusing: in the Western tradition the fiscal year starts on July 1, the school year in September, baseball season in April. And Rosh Hashana definitely has a fixed date: the first of Tishrei. So it might be bad proofreading, but it’s definitely not true that the holiday has no fixed date.
Basically, this might be a good start for understanding what’s going on in other faiths, but is hardly the last word.
Posted in book reviewson 07/23/2010 08:36 am by Dave
07/24/2010 at 5:59 am
I wrote my longest comment ever, after reading this review. I didn’t post it though, because I’m sure my 50 years worth of observations on religions would get someone mad at me. It was a fairly funny comment though.
This topic sure got me thinking and wondering.
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Anyway. Onto a different subject now.
This book made me curious as to how it might have talked about the Christian religion…since Christianity is divided into two categories (Catholic and Protestants).
And then there are all the Christian-American sub-divisions: Lutheran, Seventh Day Adventist, Baptist, Pentecostal, Mennonite, Methodist, etc….and then religions that branch off into Jehovah Witness, Mormon, Scientology….Tony Robbins, etc.
I need to check and see if this book touches upon those many variations.
Or if it goes so far as to discusses proper behavior for “non-spiritual faiths” involving Luck, Fortuna, Casino-anity, and other types of belief systems. (Gee. I hope that doesn’t read as odd as it might sound. I’m seriously not trying to be making puns or anything).
Actually. I’d like to also read a book about Ancient Religions that no longer exist…like a book that talks about about Sun-Gods, Egyptian and Aztec religious beliefs…or the likely religion followed on Atlantis, etc.
Just wondering.
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Anyway. Onto a different subject…about fixed dates and religious holidays:
My dad’s family used to call him Bunny Boy, because he was born on Easter.
For a long time I was confused as to why the date for Easter always shifted around so much. About 20 years ago I finally found out that Easter falls on the first Sunday, after the first full moon, after the first day of Spring.
But I still can’t figure out how many times my dad’s birthday AGAIN fell on Easter Sunday. (Every 7 years or longer?). It’s a weird puzzle for me.
Maybe the Internet can provide the answer…if I can just figure out the right “search term” to use. Otherwise I’ll have to look at 70 years’ worth of months on a ‘perpetual calendar’.
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Okay. That’s my (hopefully harmless) comment on this subject of religions.
I’ll look for this book at the library. Right now I have nothing to read but computer manuals. I need to find something quick. A good biography or adventure story or something
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By the way Dave. If you are writing a book about Jay Sarno, that will be a great subject with a lot of potential to encapsulate Vegas history…the way you did in Suburban Xanadu. I’m still amazed out how you logically arranged so many different subjects into one good read.
That goes double for Roll the Bones. That was an astronomically good book!
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EXIT
07/25/2010 at 11:15 am
Hello David,
Thank you for taking the time to write a review of my commissioned book “Do I Kneel or Do I Bow?” and I thought it might be helpful for you to know that each chapter was read and validated by an expert/faith leader of that faith. However, I will certainly pass your comments regarding Rosh Hashana to the Rabbi concerned and also the publishers. Best wishes, Rev. Akasha Lonsdale, Interfaith Minister, UK.