In the past few years a national conversation has ignited about the character of racial and religious outsiders, who belongs in America and under what terms and conditions they belong. According to Stanford historian Kathryn Gin Lum in her latest book “Heathen: Religion and Race in American History,” these ideas and American conceptions of race can be traced back to the religious and racialized concept of the “heathen.”
Read More(REVIEW) Tallu Schuyler Quinn, founder of the Nashville Food Project, died at 42 after a battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. Her posthumous memoir, “What We Wish Were True: Reflections on Nurturing Life and Facing Death,” details her life and faith in intimate detail.
Read MoreAs the Holocaust unfolded, what exactly did Pope Pius XII and the Vatican do to help Jews escape? That’s the big question many have been asking, and Vatican documents reveal some interesting details. A new book answers that question and more.
Read More(REVIEW) Emerging from a small sect within Judaism, early Christianity absorbed much of the religious, cultural and philosophical traditions of the Greco-Roman world at the time. A new book looks at the centuries that followed the crucifixion of Jesus, which were ones of intense persecution. Christianity would eventually flourish and become the state religion of the Roman Empire.
Read MoreTwo sociologists of religion, Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, wrote an upcoming book titled “The Flag and The Cross,” which explores White Christian nationalism through the lens of history and recent survey data. Gorski and Perry attempt to explain its past while explaining its importance for understanding the future of American religion and politics.
Read More(REVIEW) Since many Catholics — ones in America in particular — are so carnivorous throughout much of the year, a new cookbook out just in time for Lent focuses on the very dilemma of what to eat on Fridays this month. Scott Hahn’s book “The Lenten Cookbook” from Sophia Institute Press serves up easy-to-make meals this spring.
Read More(REVIEW) One of the most misunderstood biblical figures has to be Mary Magdalene. A new book tries to finally set the record straight with a full examination of her life. In fact, centuries of distortions and myths is what theologian and author Adriana Valero tries to uncover in order to paint a fuller, and truthful, representation of one of the most important women from the New Testament.
Read MoreIn 2020, Anne Snyder launched a publishing project to explore a redemptive vision forward through the public health, racial and economic crises at hand. The online commons that resulted — Breaking Ground — became a one-of-a-kind space to probe society’s assumptions, interrogate our own hearts and imagine what a better future might require.
Read More(REVIEW) February is Black History Month, and it’s a reminder of the many contributions Black Americans have made to the culture, life and history of the United States. Often overlooked is the relationship between African Americans and the Roman Catholic Church in this country. Here are five books that delve into their history and why it matters.
Read More(REVIEW) “Prey” is a meticulously researched book, and Ali offers us page after page of grim statistics to support her thesis that the surge of immigration into Europe in 2015 has led to a surge in sexual violence.
Read More(REVIEW) What would you do if you encountered God, seemingly the same as any other man, and He offered to save your life as long as you believed in Him? Would you believe? What would it take? These are the questions at the core of Mitch Albom’s new novel, “The Stranger in the Lifeboat.”
Read More(REVIEW) Justice John Marshall Harlan was the sole defender of civil rights in a series of 1883 Supreme Court cases. In a new book, Peter Canellos argues that Harlan’s distinctive moral values came from his deeply held religious faith, commitment to the founding ideals and personal experience, including inspiration from his biracial brother.
Read More“Autobiography of a Yogi,” published in 1946, popularized Eastern religious concepts like “cosmic consciousness” and practices like yoga and meditation in the West. Brother Jayananada, who became a monk after reading the book over 40 years ago, spoke with ReligionUnplugged.com about its 75th anniversary and its lasting impact.
Read More(REVIEW) Popes are famous for many different things. In the case of John Paul I, he’s best known for being pope for just 33 days. Thanks to an Italian journalist, her access to never-before-seen Vatican documents and 2017 book (now available in English), the former pope could very well be on his way to being made a saint.
Read More(REVIEW) “Carlo Acutis: God’s Computer Genius” makes for a perfect present for your child or preteen this Christmas. Catholic children are no strangers to books featuring saints, but Acutis is special because he speaks to the current generation. That is why his life is worth re-examination and why this is a book worth stuffing into a Christmas stocking.
Read More(REVIEW) On the very first page of Karl Ove Knausgård’s new novel, “The Morning Star,” you will find a quotation from Revelation 9:6, giving the reader a key to understanding the separate life stories that make up the book: “During that time these men will seek death, but they will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
Read More(REVIEW) Jonathan Franzen’s latest novel, “Crossroads,” testifies to humanity’s desperate, unremitting search for grace and ability to find it in unlikely places as it follows five members of a dysfunctional Midwestern U.S. family in the early 1970s who grapple with a paralyzing sense of unworthiness.
Read More(REVIEW) Stephen Rossetti, a licensed psychologist, tries to use his latest book to educate people on the subject of exorcisms and debunk myths that have been pushed into pop culture by Hollywood. He also pushes back on the idea that exorcisms are “not an integral part of the ministry of Jesus and thus are not an integral part of today’s church.”
Read MoreIn an interview with Religion Unplugged, bestselling Christian author Philip Yancey discusses his new memoir, “Where the Light Fell,” about a painful upbringing in poverty and fundamentalism with his brother and single mother that birthed a passionate curiosity and a writing career of many celebrated Christian books over the last 40 years.
Read More(REVIEW) A quick read at 148 pages, ‘Running For A Higher Purpose’ is the type of book perfect for a world that has been plunged into a pandemic since February 2020 and for those in need of both physical and spiritual assistance.
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