World Book Online for Kids is geared toward the audience of primary school children. These children are at a formative age in which information intake is deeply rooted in their memories for the rest of their lives.
What, then, are we to make of a “teaching” publication that does not provide an equal format, with comparable information, on the three major monotheistic religions of the world? Although the articles themselves are roughly equal in length [Judaism = 5 paragraphs, 24 lines, 254 words; Christianity = 3 paragraphs, 14 lines, 219 words;
Islam = 4 paragraphs, 23 lines, 265 words], the same cannot be said of their content.
JUDAISM
"Judaism." World Book Online For Kids. World Book, 2011. Web. 7 June 2011.
Paragraph 1
“Judaism <<JOO dee ihz uhm>> is the religion of the Jewish people. Judaism is the world's oldest major religion.”
Judaism is NOT the world’s oldest major religion; it IS the world’s oldest major monotheistic religion. Hinduism (third largest religion in the modern world) is the world’s oldest major religion.1
Paragraph 2
“The Messiah will bring the Jews together, lead them in God's way, and defeat their enemies.”
There is absolutely nothing in the Torah, the Talmud or the Ten Commandments to suggest that the Messiah will “defeat” the “enemies” of the Jews. This clause is a gratuitous addition to attach a bellicose element to the concept of the Messiah and to the Judaic belief system. In fact, Jews pray three times daily for the messianic appearance that anticipates the following: “ingathering of the exiles [to Israel]; restoration of the religious courts of justice [in Israel]; an end of wickedness, sin and heresy; reward to the righteous; rebuilding of Jerusalem; restoration of the line of King David; and restoration of Temple service.”2
Paragraph 5
“The Talmud is a guide to the laws that Jewish people are supposed to live by.”
The operative phrase in the sentence is “supposed to,” the implication being that some, or many, or most Jews do not observe the Talmudic laws. When compared with the article on Islam, there is no suggestion in that article that a single Muslim does not adhere faithfully to all of Islam’s laws (the Five Pillars of Islam).
Notable Omissions
1) Abraham
The article on Judaism does not mention a single individual in connection with the origins of Judaism. One would have thought that Abraham, the Patriarch of Judaism, was deserving of mention. In comparison, the article on Christianity provides information on Jesus, and the article on Islam certainly discusses Muhammad.
2) Moses
There is no mention of Moses who, according to the Old Testament, received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.
3) The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments might as well not have been written since one finds no mention of them in this article, which certainly does not list them. However, in the article on Islam, one finds not only mention of the Five Pillars of Islam, but also definitions of each pillar.
4) Jewish symbol
In the article on Islam, one learns that “The symbol of Islam is a crescent, or a thin moon, and a star.” There is no mention of a Jewish symbol (Star of David)3 or Christian symbol (cross) in the articles on Judaism and Christianity. Would you be surprised to learn that, in fact, the star-and-crescent was the most common Jewish symbol4 during the Middle Ages?
CHRISTIANITY
"Christianity." World Book Online For Kids. World Book, 2011. Web. 7 June 2011.
The World Book Online article on Christianity states “Some Christians believe that Jesus was only a great human teacher” but neglects to mention which Christian sect or sects that might include.
Notable Omissions
- There is no mention that the building where Christians worship is called a church, although both synagogues and mosques are mentioned as the houses of worship for Jews and Muslims.
- Omitted also is the information that the major Christian symbol is a cross.
- The New Testament – Christianity’s contribution of the New Testament to the Bible (which previously comprised only the Old Testament) – garners not even a passing mention, even though the Torah is mentioned in the article on Judaism and the Koran appears in the article on Islam. Mention of the Bible itself is also missing in action.
ISLAM
"Islam." World Book Online For Kids. World Book, 2011. Web. 7 June 2011.
Paragraph 1
“There are many Muslims in parts of Europe and several million in the United States.”
“There are many Muslims in parts of Europe and several million in the United States.”
In fact, there are not “several million” Muslims in the United States. According to a 2007 Pew Research Center study,5 Islam represents 0.6 percent of the American population; that percentage provides a figure of approximately 1.8 million American Muslims. In 2008, the American Religious Identification Survey6 provided an even lower estimate of 1,349,000 American Muslims. Unless there has been an unprecedented reproduction rate plus immigration rate of Muslims in and to America, “several million” seems a pretty astonishing figure.
Paragraph 2
“Islam was first preached by an Arab prophet, or holy man, named Muhammad. In about A.D. 610, he began to receive messages from Allah, or God.”
Here we find the first mention of a “prophet,” although both Judaism and Christianity, antecedent religions to Islam, are replete with prophets. Also of interest is the firm statement that “he began to receive messages” as a piece of factual information. While it may be true that Muslims believe this to be factual, non-Muslims may question the veracity of the statement. One might more accurately say, “Muslims believe that Muhammad received messages from Allah.”
CONCLUSION
Neither the authors nor the editors coordinated efforts to provide even-handed treatment of the three major monotheistic religions currently practiced. The editors, especially, were MIA in what one presumes is or should be part of their job description. World Book Online for Kids receives a grade of D for its coverage of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_symbolism
4Friedenberg, Daniel M. Medieval Jewish Seals from Europe. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1987.
