Since the late nineteenth century, religiously themed books in
America have been commercially popular yet scorned by critics.
Working at the intersection of literary history, lived religion,
and consumer culture, Erin A. Smith considers the largely
unexplored world of popular religious books, examining the apparent
tension between economic and religious imperatives for authors,
publishers, and readers. Smith argues that this literature served
as a form of extra-ecclesiastical ministry and credits the
popularity and longevity of religious books to their day-to-day
usefulness rather than their theological correctness or aesthetic
quality.
Drawing on publishers' records, letters by readers to authors,
promotional materials, and interviews with contemporary
religious-reading groups, Smith offers a comprehensive study that
finds surprising overlap across the religious spectrum--Protestant,
Catholic, and Jewish, liberal and conservative. Smith tells the
story of how authors, publishers, and readers reconciled these
books' dual function as best-selling consumer goods and spiritually
edifying literature.
What Would Jesus Read? will be of
interest to literary and cultural historians, students in the field
of print culture, and scholars of religious studies.