Is There a Universal Grammar of Religion?

Henry Rosemont, Jr., and Huston Smith

In this provocative volume two important scholars of religion, Huston Smith and Henry Rosemont, Jr., put forth their viewpoints and share a probing conversation. Though the two diverge considerably in their accounts of religious faith and practice, they also agree on fundamental points. Huston Smith, author of the important work The World's Religions, has long argued for the fundamental equality of the different religious traditions. Describing a "universal grammar of religion," he argues that fourteen points of similarity exist among all of the major religions and that these similarities indicate an innate psychological affinity for religion within the human spirit. As Noam Chomsky has argued that humans are hardwired to use language, Smith similarly argues that humans are hardwired for religious experience. In response, Rosemont explicates his humanistic vision of the world, in which the "homoversal" tendency to contemplate the infinite is part of our co-humanity that endures across time, space, language, and culture. Rosemont also elaborates upon Noam Chomsky's theory of universal grammar and its relevance to Smith's ideas. This insightful exploration of the most essential basis of religion provides a new direction for comparative-religion scholars everywhere.

“A splendid 'Dialogue Concerning World Religions' between two eminent scholars and outstanding authors! Unlike the often rather ‘fundamentalist’ debates between fervent believers and uncompromising ‘rationalists’ here we find a refreshingly profound, respectful, and truly sympathetic exchange between a secular and a sacred view of life and the world around us. Instead of simply dismissing each other’s positions, Huston Smith and Henry Rosemont, Jr., set a new standard for exploring together the perennial question of why, or why not, to believe in a God ‘above us.’”

—Hans-Georg Moeller, author of The Philosophy of the Daodejing (2006) and Luhmann Explained (2006) and translator of the Daodejing (2007).

Henry Rosemont was George B. and Willma Reeves Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the Liberal Arts at St. Mary's College of Maryland and has been a visiting professor at Brown University and Trinity University. He is the author of A Chinese Mirror (1991) and Rationality and Religious Experience (2001) and translator of The Analects of Confucius: A Philosophical Translation (1999).

Huston Smith is one of the preeminent religious scholars in the US today. He has taught religion and philosophy at the University of Colorado, Washington University in St. Louis, MIT, and Syracuse University. He is the author of The World's Religions (1991), Why Religion Matters (2001), and The Soul of Christianity (2005). Smith has been the subject of a five-part Bill Moyers documentary on PBS and his many films have won international awards.