More Timely Now Than Ever

Some of the biggest news stories of the past year have been about religion. The reverberations of September 11 continue to be felt throughout American society, as new terrorism alerts and developments occur almost daily. The crisis in the Catholic Church has filled plenty of space on the airwaves and in newspapers and magazines, including PW ("Examining the Sins of the Fathers," May 13). Now, as the Dow seesaws with every new revelation of corporate malfeasance, this latest big story—the crisis of confidence in American business—also becomes fertile ground for religion publishers, equipped as they are to deal with its moral, spiritual and ethical dimensions.

Even though these publishers could not have foreseen the events of recent months when they acquired the books now reaching stores, the number of titles marrying religion with work or business is remarkable. Among the high-profile titles are Leadership 101 (Thomas Nelson) and Running with the Giants (Warner), both by perennial bestseller John Maxwell. Two from Jossey-Bass, Life@Work on Leadership and Behind the Bottom Line by Stephen Graves and Thomas Addington, also come from leading voices in the spirituality-at-work movement. These and other books—such as Evangel's The Fed, the Markets, and the Metamorphosis of the Business Cycle: A Christian Perspective, NavPress's Executive Influence and Revell's Corporate Giants: Personal Stories of Faith and Finance—may be coming just in time.

As the first anniversary of September 11 approaches, the books offered reflect that anticipation, as well as the other concerns that have gripped us all since then. The most active subcategories this season continue to be religion's foundational topics—spirituality, prayer, inspiration—but once again, as this past spring when publishers raced to respond to the events of that historic day, there are many titles that seek to foster interreligious understanding. Morrow's Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths by Bruce Feiler (Walking the Bible) may help readers grasp a common heritage as well as see the roots of seemingly intractable conflicts. There are rich choices to help those who are dealing with loss, to encourage those struggling to forgive. There are also, of course, many titles on Islam. As with the September 11—related books, the key question is: Are there too many? Has American readers' interest and need for information already been sated? Some books promise to have legs, among them Harper SF's When Religion Becomes Evil by Charles Kimball, a professor of religion who was director of the National Council of Churches' Middle East office during the 1980s and in 1979 helped facilitate dialogue during the Iranian hostage crisis.

The hybrid subcategory of religion and psychology/self-help is a crowded one this season, offering advice for every imaginable human problem, with many—such as Orbis's Jacob's Hip: Finding God in an Anxious Age—focusing on stress, anger and fear, another sign of the times. There are also a spate of books—such as Safe Place: Guidelines for Creating an Abuse-Free Environment (Christian Publications) and How to Keep Your Church Out of Court (Concordia)—designed to help churches prevent what is causing so many Catholics to grieve these days.

A few houses seem to be pulling back on title output—not surprising in an uncertain economy—but others are more fruitful than ever. The real boom seems to be in books about Buddhism, with the number of titles offered for our listings doubling again after having already doubled this past spring. With its promise of peace in the midst of turmoil, that system of beliefs and practices seems to have appeal that just keeps growing—or at least, so publishers hope.

Although recent months have amply demonstrated how religion can fail and go wrong, people continue to express a deep need to connect with the divine and support each other in communities of faith, as illuminated by authors such as Colleen Carroll (The New Faithful: Why Young Adults Are Embracing Christian Orthodoxy, Loyola) and John Schmalzbauer (People of Faith: Religious Conviction in American Journalism and Higher Education, Cornell). Religious institutions are as imperfect as the people who form them, but it is that imperfection that keeps driving human beings to God.