Among books for spiritual and religious readers alike are those that suggest expanding or making changes to traditional religions and religious practices. These breaks with tradition can be large or small, such as calling for a more inclusive theology or making recommendations for better involving young people in religious institutions. Several new books focus on
the future of Christianity, with some bucking tradition and others rejecting stereotypes about the faith, while others look to build on traditional religious practices.
“Titles challenging conventional Christianity are nothing new,” says Valerie Weaver-Zercher, acquiring editor at Broadleaf, citing books by authors such as James Cone, Rachel Held Evans, and Madeleine L’Engle. “My sense is that Christian and post-Christian readers alike are hungry for books about the faith they espouse—or are leaving, or have left—that aren’t polemics or diatribes. The best books in this category, in my mind, don’t simply play to a reader’s often very legitimate grievances against the church of their childhood; rather, they help a reader sift through harmful legacies and discern what to toss and what to keep.”
Broadleaf is offering A Faith of Many Rooms by Debie Thomas (out now), which addresses problems within Christianity and the church. Thomas, a minister, suggests “ample yet orthodox” theology, the publisher says, and asserts in the book, “Wherever God dwells, there is expansiveness and belonging.”
Weaver-Zercher calls A Faith of Many Rooms “an exploration of the capacious house of Christian faith,” adding, “Thomas gently takes on both those who contend that narrow Christian doctrine ropes itself around true faith and those who claim the only way to live an intellectually and spiritually authentic life is to walk away.”
Publishers are also targeting religious readers looking for ways to reconcile modern needs with traditional beliefs. Michael W. Austin, a professor of philosophy at Eastern Kentucky University, has written critiques of the church in past books QAnon, Chaos, and the Cross and God and Guns in America. Now, Austin is calling on Christians to follow Jesus in his new book, Humility: Rediscovering the Way of Love and Life in Christ (Eerdmans, out now), which guides readers through spiritual disciplines such as praying the Psalms. Humility, according to the publisher, is “for Christians seeking transformative union with God, in their souls, and society.”
Another Eerdmans title, Defiant Hope, Active Love: What Young Adults Are Seeking in Places of Work, Faith, and Community (July), edited by Jeffrey F. Keuss, features findings from social science researchers about young adults. The book outlines what young people are looking for when it comes to spirituality, and it lays out recommendations for how churches can involve young adults in Christian community.
“The contributors to Defiant Hope, Active Love encourage church leaders to let go of nostalgia for old ecclesiological norms and embrace something new, inclusive, and authentic,” says Trevor Thompson, senior acquisitions editor at Eerdmans.
For Buddhist readers and those practicing mindfulness, I’m Mindful, Now What by Andrew Holecek (Sounds True, Aug.) looks at the next meditative stage, moving readers beyond foundational mindfulness to deeper meditative practice, according to Anastasia Pellouchoud, acquisitions editor at Sounds True, who calls the book “crucial for this time.”
“It’s not enough to merely pause or breathe; we must learn to navigate the depths of our experiences, thoughts, and emotions with insight and compassion, and in a way that feels accessible to our personal life,” Pellouchoud says. “The opportunity to curate a mindfulness practice equips us with the resilience needed to face our own modern challenges head-on and allows us a framework for how to transform our communities and society at large.”
