Books
Live not by a false sense of persecution
Rod Dreher’s Live Not By Lies is a damning testament to a religion without vision.
Is preaching “all Jesus” or “all me”?
Jerusha Matsen Neal writes for preachers who stand in the messy middle.
What do fertility rates have to do with secularization?
A lot, says Philip Jenkins—but it’s not as simple as cause and effect.
The view from Rebekah Taussig’s wheelchair
Sitting Pretty showed me how much I have to learn about ableism.
Faith and work have long been torn apart
How can we stitch them together?
The solution to the fear of death is to live as dying creatures
Theologian Todd Billings grapples with scripture, philosophy, and his own incurable cancer.
The many voices of refugee experience
Kao Kalia Yang’s collective memoir conveys their diversity—and their singular humanity.
A history of the Pilgrims that neither idolizes nor demonizes them
Historian John Turner tells the story of Plymouth Colony with nuance and care.
What is “religious violence”?
We know what violence is, but what counts as religion?
A US son of Salvadoran parents explores his complex identity
Roberto Lovato’s harrowing memoir is a process of personal and collective unveiling.
Finding a way forward after the Tree of Life synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh
A collection of remembrances that bind the living and the dead
Why do we write and read poetry?
For both Paul Mariani and Mark Jarman, the mystery is theological.
Thinking better about autism
Grant Macaskill’s reflection on neurodiversity becomes a stimulus to renewal of faith.
The audacity to preach the gospel
Will Willimon tells preachers to put aside sentimentality.
Our 10 most-read book reviews of 2020
Christian nationalism, reading the Bible in a pandemic, what to do about Whiteness, and more
Who is solitude for?
David Vincent’s exhaustive tome suggests that fruitful solitude has often been linked to privilege.
Piranesi is the best kind of fantasy novel
Susanna Clarke weaves magic into her readers’ lives.
Robert P. Jones says it’s past time to reckon with Christianity’s role in White supremacy
White Too Long envisions the hope that could follow recognition and repentance.
Seeing Black people in scripture
Esau McCaulley’s book reclaims what the Black church has always known.
The books we’re giving as Christmas gifts
If your secret Santa were a Century editor, here’s what you might be getting.