The best new books I’ve read in the last month are
- (4.5) The Religious Left: What It Does and How It Can Do Better by Robert Wuthnow (New York University Press, 2026)
- (4.5) Torn: Why People We Love Are Leaving the Church and What We Can Learn from Them by Jeff Strong (Coolstream Publishing, 2026)
- (4.5) How to Not Know: The Value of Uncertainty in a World that Demands Answers by Simone Stolzoff (W. W. Norton & Company, 2026)
- (4.0) You Don’t Need a Calling: An Anti-Capitalist Manifesto for a Life of Purpose by Damon Garcia (Broadleaf Books, 2026)
- (4.0) Purity Culture, Bodies, and Beliefs: Stories of Religious Trauma edited by Victoria Houser and Mari Ramier (The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2026)
- (4.0) To Rebehold the Stars: Reimagining Faith and Formation After Deconstruction by Tiffany Yecke Brooks (William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2026)
- (3.5) The Lord’s Prayer is Manifesto: The Three Dimensions of Jesus’s Sacred Revolution by Tim Clayton (Orbis Books, 2026)
- (3.5) Earn the Ask: How Mission-Driven Leaders Build Trust, Deepen Relationships, and Inspire Generosity by Johnny Garvilla (TTF Media, 2026)
Welcome Back
Two of this month’s authors have previously been featured on So What Faith in connection with other books they have written:
- Robert Wuthnow is an esteemed American sociologist of religion who chaired the sociology department at Princeton, served as President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and the Eastern Sociological Society, is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow of the American Philosophical Society, and has received numerous honors and awards for his research, teaching, and publications. He has previously appeared on So What Faith on numerous occasions, including three times when I featured three of the many books he has authored. In 2025, I rated What Happens When we Practice Religion: Textures of Devotion in Everyday Life 5.0. In 2013, I reviewed his 2012 book: The God Problem: Expressing Faith and Being Reasonable . In 2010, I reviewed his 2007 book: After the Baby Boomers: How Twenty- and Thirty-Somethings are Shaping the Future of American Religion. And, in 2009, I reviewed his 2009 book: Boundless Faith: The Global Outreach of American Churches.
- Tiffany Yecke Brooks is a literature and writing professor turned author, editor, speaker, and writing coach. In 2023, I rated her 2022 book Gaslighted by God: Reconstructing a Disillusioned Faith 4.0.