After the flat sales of 2002, when the religion category did well just to maintain its status quo in a challenging economy, religion books rebounded this year both in sales and in the number of books published. PW received over 2,100 religion and spirituality titles in 2003 (not including religious fiction), a 13% increase over 2002. This demonstrates that publishers are once again expanding their religion lists, with particular emphasis on some emerging growth categories: Wicca and neo-paganism, interfaith dialogue (especially Buddhist-Christian exchanges), yoga and worship.
The topselling religion book of the year was undoubtedly Rick Warren's The Purpose-Driven Life (Zondervan), which has sold more than eight million copies since its release a year ago. With churches buying hundreds of copies at a time for their "Forty Days of Purpose" programs this fall, the word will likely continue to spread as more readers are introduced to Warren's ideas.
As in past years, however, the books that PW has judged the best in quality are not necessarily those that have found their way onto bestseller lists. There is one notable exception: Elaine Pagels's Beyond Belief, which focuses on the Gospel of Thomas, certainly capitalized on the interest in some of the ideas contained in Dan Brown's controversial novel The Da Vinci Code, with the result that Pagels's book has spent the last few months on various national bestseller lists.
The Rebbe's Army: Inside the World of Chabad-LubavitchSue Fishkoff (Schocken)
This remarkable ethnographic profile goes behind the scenes of Lubavitcher Judaism to explore how the movement's enthusiastic young emissaries, or schlihim, carry the Rebbe's message throughout the world. Fishkoff writes robustly and engagingly, and her portrait of Chabad is not only profoundly respectful but also poignant and full of joy.
Living a Year of KaddishAri L. Goldman (Schocken)
This clearly written memoir appears at first glance to be simple and straightforward, but is in fact a profound and sophisticated examination of human relationships, particularly between a son and his parents. A modern Orthodox Jew, Goldman writes about observing the ritual requirements following the death of his father, including the obligation to "say kaddish" each day for 11 months.
Jonathan Edwards: A LifeGeorge M. Marsden (Yale Univ.)
This magisterial and definitive biography reveals the complexities of Edwards's life and provides new appreciation for his commitment to fostering religious sensibilities in the increasingly secular world of his time. This is a beautifully written book about one of America's most important thinkers.
Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of ThomasElaine Pagels (Random)
In this majestic new book, Pagels ranges panoramically over the history of early Christianity. She eloquently and provocatively argues that the author of John wrote his gospel as a refutation of Thomas. Exhilarating reading, Pagels's book offers a model of careful and thoughtful scholarship in the lively and exciting prose of a good mystery writer.
American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National IconStephen Prothero (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
As Boston University historian Prothero demonstrates in this sparkling and engrossing book, Jesus is the one religious figure nearly every American, whether Christian or not, past and present, has embraced. Nearly every page offers a fresh portrait of some corner of American religious history.
A People Adrift: The Crisis of the Roman Catholic Church in AmericaPeter Steinfels (Simon & Schuster)
Large institutional questions—primary and higher education, health care, worship, leadership, the priesthood, roles for laity and women—all are examined through Steinfels's own years of reporting as well as through the lenses of major studies by sociologists.
Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies and the Truth About RealityBrad Warner (Wisdom)
By liberally sharing anecdotes from his own life as a down-and-out punk rocker and as a maker of monster movies, Warner constantly focuses on the importance of a direct experience of reality in all its rawness over adherence to any set of beliefs—even Zen ones. Entertaining, bold and refreshingly direct, this book is likely to change the way one experiences other books about Zen—and maybe even the way one experiences reality.
Rumors of Another World: What on Earth Are We Missing?Philip Yancey (Zondervan)
In a work that is startling and original, Yancey writes for people on the "borderlands" of Christian faith: those who may have been burned by bad church experiences or who simply have more doubts and questions than they have faith.
See our "best books" in the following categories:
