The best new books I’ve read in the last month are
- (5.0) Enough is Enough: Degrowth, Capitalism, and Liberation Theology by Matthew Bernico and Dean Detloff (Fortress Press, 2026)
- (4.5) My Son, The Priest: A Mother’s Crisis of Faith by Kristin Grady Gilger (Monkfish, 2025)
- (4.5) Born Again Queer: A History of Evangelical Gay Activism and the Making of Antigay Christianity by William Stell (Princeton University Press, 2026)
- (4.0) Procrastination Proof: Never Get Stuck Again by Jon Acuff (Baker Books, 2026)
- (4.0) Baal and the Gods of More: Rescuing Church Growth from Idolatry by Andrew Root (Baker Academic, 2026)
- (4.0) Leading Worship for Workers: How to Design Liturgies for All of Life by Matthew Kaemingk and Kathryn Roelofs (Baker Academic, 2026)
- (3.5) Inquisitive Leadership: A New Approach to Cultivating High Performance by Frederica A. Peterson (Simply Good Press, 2026)
- (2.5) When Shepherds Prey: Confronting Abuse in Church Leadership – A Call for Reformation by Ron Cantor (Self Published, 2026)
Enough is Enough
Enough is Enough: Degrowth, Capitalism, and Liberation Theology is one of the most provocative and challenging books I’ve read this year. The authors argue that capitalism is not simply flawed, but fundamentally unsustainable; it is a system requiring endless growth that is driving us toward ecological and social collapse. Writing from a deeply Christian perspective rooted in liberation theology and Catholic social teaching, they remind readers that Christianity both predates capitalism and, in many ways, helped shape the world that made it possible.
The book ultimately asks a difficult but urgent question: if Christianity once helped give rise to capitalism, can it now help imagine and build something beyond it? Bernico and Detloff argue that it can, through degrowth: a radical reorientation away from endless accumulation and expansion and toward solidarity, human dignity, and ecological balance.
Whether you find yourself persuaded or unsettled by its arguments, this is a book that refuses passive reading. It challenges readers to think more deeply, critically, and theologically about capitalism in the twenty-first century and to imagine what forms of economic and spiritual life might still be possible beyond it.
Welcome Back
Andrew Root has been featured on So What Faith three times in recent years each for a review or rating of his latest book
- 2023: When Church Stops Working: A Future for Your Congregation Beyond More Money, Programs, and Innovation (co-authored with Blair D. Bertrand) – rated 4.0
- 2022: Churches and the Crisis of Decline: A Hopeful, Practical Ecclesiology for a Secular Age – rated 4.0
- 2013: The Relational Pastor: Sharing in Christ by Sharing Ourselves – rated 4.0