Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life reappeared on PW's Religion Nonfiction list at #9 for July after a nearly year-long absence. Zondervan consistently promotes the ever popular devotional—which has sold 33 million copies in over 50 languages since its 2002 publication—by working with Warren’s team on creating new book-related content and sharing it on social media, including Facebook, where Warren has over five million followers.
Also breaking the top 10 in Religion Nonfiction, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt came in at #10 with 2013’s The Righteous Mind, an examination of human moral impulses that explores the conflicts between liberals, conservatives, and libertarians. The author’s research has been cited in several recent reports on the 2016 presidential election and the issues surrounding it on outlets such as the National Review, the Daily Beast, and more. The Righteous Mind was also recommended by Glenn Beck and the New York Post, and in mid-July, the radio program Marketplace.org selected the book as the first title to read for its Make Me Smart book club.
In Religion Fiction, James Patterson debuted on the Bestsellers list at #1 with the newly-released paperback edition of 2016’s Woman of God, co-written by Maxine Paetro. The book follows the world’s first female pope who must overcome adversaries and defend her faith. Patterson knocked Karen Kingsbury’s latest Baxter family novel, Love Story, to #2.
