ABSTRACT
Literacy has been linked often with religion, that is, with what have been called “world”
religions or “ethical” religions (Goody, 1986). In contrast to religion in traditional
societies, world religions generally show a missionary impulse (Parrinder, 1971). In tradi-
tional societies, religion is local and so interwoven with other aspects of the society that it is
particular to that society and thus restricted to the people of that society. World religions,
in contrast, travel over time and space, advocating what they deem to be a universal set of
beliefs. Incorporating people into these religions usually involves literacy, especially for
the three world religions that emerged from the Middle East: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
