Without too much hyperbole, the past 12 months might be called the Year of Religion in publishing. The controversy stirred by Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ raised the profile of religion in public discourse, but it was certainly not the only factor spurring sales of books in the category to new heights. The Purpose-Driven Life broke all records as the bestselling book of any kind in 2003—a record set in 2001 by another religion book, The Prayer of Jabez. The dominance of The Da Vinci Code in fiction had a lift-all-boats effect on a variety of topically related titles and produced a whole new subcategory of anti—Da Vinci books, as well as a bestselling companion volume. The release of the 12th (and supposedly final) book in the Left behind series, Glorious Appearing, was a major media event, with the authors featured on the cover of Newsweek and interviewed on several national television programs. The latest Association of American Publishers statistics show sales of religion up more than 32% through this May, far outstripping any other category.
Despite all that, a look at the lists for fall reveals some caution among publishers. Most of the major subcategories—spirituality, prayer and Christian living—are stable in output, but it appears there are fewer "soft" inspiration books (perhaps a sign of these more serious times). And after peaking over the past several years, the over-stuffed subcategory of biography, autobiography and memoir has weakened. Except for a few recent standouts—notably Karen Armstrong's The Spiral Staircase and Tony Hendra's Father Joe—publishers tell PW their latest titles in these genres have brought disappointing sales, and the fall lists confirm a softening, with significantly fewer being published. Books about Buddhism continue to be published in healthy numbers, as do those on Islam and interfaith dialogue. One faith stimulating more titles this season is Hinduism, including books on the spiritual aspects of yoga. In addition, the number of books about Judaism and of Jewish interest—as well as those for and about Catholics—demonstrate robust expectations.
One significant event this season is the release of the first authorized trade edition of the Book of Mormon, the seminal text for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a further indication of the mainstreaming of this faith of more than 12 million worldwide that once was viewed as a fringe movement. Doubleday will publish the volume this October.
The conventional wisdom has been that Baby Boomers are the heaviest purchasers of religion/spirituality books. But our recent consumer research revealed a surprising number of younger readers: the online survey, conducted in May, revealed the largest group of purchasers (28%) was 25 to 34 years old. Christian publishers in particular are making a focused effort to develop this audience of tomorrow, with books that fall under the topical heading "emergent church." Publishers such as Zondervan, Relevant, Jossey-Bass, Paraclete and NavPress are among those seeking to reach the alphabet generations (X and Y) with fall titles.
Though religion has been a muscular category for the past 15 years, no one can deny the effects of a certain movie over the past year. Pondering the final hours of Jesus continues this fall with several books. Two authors look at the biblical accounts of the Passion (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press); one leads readers in meditations on the events of those final hours (Mercer Univ. Press); another examines how the crucifixion has been portrayed in art across the centuries (Ashgate). Only one is directly related to the film: Palgrave Macmillan's Re-Viewing the Passion: Mel Gibson's Film and Its Critics (Oct.) is a collection of critical essays by religion scholars that includes a viewers' guide. The release of the movie on DVD this fall is expected by many to reignite the conversation, a part of the larger dialogue about religion and spirituality in our culture that shows no signs of abating.
