What Does Faith Have to Do with It?

by G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Religion BookLine -- Publishers Weekly, 9/20/2006

Publishers hot for global warming books are moving into religion content as writers aim to strike a chord with readers who regard the environment as a gift from above.

Making the biggest splash to date is Norton, with The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth by renowned Harvard scientist E.O. Wilson (Sept.). Framed as an open letter to a Southern Baptist minister, the book argues that people of faith have good reason to join with scientists in a quest to save the planet's diminishing biodiversity. Already a Boston Globe and Denver Post bestseller, The Creation is poised to benefit further from Wilson's seven-city tour as well as several university speaking engagements and strong interest from the mainstream media.

Norton hasn't stopped there. Inspiring Progress: Religions' Contributions to Sustainable Development by Gary T. Gardner hit the shelves on September 25. This product of the Worldwatch Institute serves up a hopeful account of the many new environmental initiatives to come from a diverse array of religious organizations over the past 15 years.

These books "each state in a very different way that it's time for those interested in science and religion to work together for biodiversity," said Louise Brockett, Norton v-p and director of publicity.

Other publishers also envision eco-minded synergies among groups traditionally at odds over ideology. Chelsea Green, a Vermont publisher of environmental books, commissioned a local evangelical Christian physician to tell why he dumped more than half his possessions and quit doctoring to work full-time on environmental causes. Dr. J. Matthew Sleeth's result, Serve God, Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action, came out in May.

"We don't know the Christian market," said Margo Baldwin, president of Chelsea Green. "But we do know we like to come at this [environmentalism] issue from all sides, so why not?" The book has thus far been "a slow seller," Baldwin said, but she expects it eventually to sell "in the hundreds of thousands at least." One big reason: during the week of September 11, Chelsea Green sold paperback rights to Christian publisher Zondervan for a limited term.

In another foray into unknown waters, in November Chelsea Green will release Not In His Image: Gnostic Vision, Sacred Ecology and the Future of Belief by mythologist John Lamb Lash. What Sleeth finds in orthodox Christianity, Lash finds in the pagan traditions of pre-Christian Europe: a powerful force for reordering human lives in ways that make sense for an imperiled planet.

Oxford University Press tackles the subject while sticking with relatively familiar territory. The company signed philosopher Roger S. Gottlieb to write A Greener Faith: Religious Environmentalism and Our Planet's Future (Apr.). Gottlieb explains why religions of various stripes have a vested interest in defending the environment, and he chronicles what he regards as a hopeful surge of interest. "It's definitely geared for the general readers who do already have faith in their lives," said Brian Hughes, marketing manager for Oxford.