Best Religion & Spirituality Books 2019

Explorations of faith, history, and culture. The best religion and spirituality books published in 2019.

See all of our 2019 Best Books lists.

 
Baskette, Molly & Ellen O’Donnell. Bless This Mess: A Modern Guide to Faith and Parenting in a Chaotic World. Convergent. ISBN 9781984824127.
Baskette and O’Donnell describe actionable steps to help parents talk to children about topics such as life and death, gender and sexuality.
 
Butnick, Stephanie & others. The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia: From Abraham to Zabar’s and Everything in Between. Artisan. ISBN 9781579658939.
This delightfully irreverent volume blends religion, history, and sociology to create a welcome guide to Jewish culture.
 
Greenstein, Edward L. Job: A New Translation. Yale Univ. ISBN 9780300162349.
Splitting the difference between scholarly rigor and general accessibility, Greenstein provides a distilled magnum opus that should serve as an exemplar of a neglected school of thought in biblical interpretation.
 
Lester, Terence. I See You: How Love Opens Our Eyes to Invisible People. IVP. ISBN 9780830845729.
Lester shares his varied experiences ministering to people experiencing poverty or homelessness, and challenges readers to listen, learn, and see the people behind the difficulties.
 
McCleneghan, Bromleigh & Karen Ware Jackson. When Kids Ask Hard Questions: Faith-Filled Responses for Tough Topics. Chalice. ISBN 9780827243309.
In this modern, progressive guide to integrating faith into child-rearing, Pastors McCleneghan and Jackson equip people of various faiths to think critically about what they believe and how they communicate their values to their children.
 
McEntyre, Marilyn. When Poets Pray. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802876584.
McEntyre shares poems on the theme of prayer, asking us to think beyond personal needs. A work that will appeal to poetry readers and newcomers alike.
 
 
ISBN 9781481308779.
McKnight retraces the steps of Paul in this scholarly work and reconsiders what is often thought to be Paul’s greatest letter, allowing for a fresh perspective of the New Testament.
 
Scorah, Amber. Leaving the Witness: Exiting a Religion and Finding a Life. Viking. ISBN 9780735222540.
In this story of love and tragedy, Scorah chronicles her difficult childhood and her experience leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses. A personal account of transformation, belonging, and finding one’s place in the world.
 
Taylor, Barbara Brown. Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others. HarperOne. ISBN 9780062406569.
Taylor describes how teaching transformed her interactions with believers of different faiths, effectively reminding us that religion is more than beliefs; it involves our deepest selves and is the fabric of our shared lives.
 
In this compelling debut, Tisby offers historical and societal background on how evangelical Christianity has upheld racism, from colonial days to the present.
 
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