The Top Religion Stories of 2025It was a big year in religious publishing, from Catholic publishers’ rush to release biographies of Pope Leo XIV to the rise of Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, who saw her 2023 book sell out—and inked a deal for two more titles—after confronting President Trump.
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Printed Hymnals Make a ComebackBooks of classic hymns and scripture songs are seeing a resurgence, with Crossway publishing officer Don Jones saying these songbooks for worship help “the church rediscover its voice and its heritage as a singing people.”
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‘Growing Up Saved: When Loving God Feels Like Losing Yourself’ by Kristen LaValleyBible teacher LaValley recounts in this spirited memoir how she rebuilt her faith after her pastor father was pushed out of their Pentecostal church during her childhood and, years later, feeling she was denied a ministry position at a church because of critiques of her mothering choices. Even so, she finds a faith of her own, writing that believers must exist in communities to “grow in righteousness and be the hands and feet of Christ.”
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‘Spirits of Empire: How Settler Colonialism Made American Religion’ by Tisa WengerWenger, a history professor at Yale Divinity School, unpacks the complex relationship between Indigenous resistance, secular governance, and American Christianity in the 18th and 19th centuries when the U.S. government used religion as a tool to secure power, by morally justifying its conquest of Indigenous lands and setting up networks of churches to support settlers. The author offers a scrupulous look at the entanglement of empire, sovereignty, and belief in early America.
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‘When God Seems Distant: Surprising Ways God Deepens Our Faith and Draws Us Near’ by Kyle Strobel and John CoeStrobel and Coe, theology professors at Biola University, offer a resolute guide to ways readers can strengthen their faith not only in joyous seasons but also when they feel isolated from God. They eloquently give voice to the doubts that arise when one’s faith flags, even if the solutions on offer—bringing one’s pain to God and resisting expectations of straightforward spiritual development—are easier said than done. Still, Christians who feel spiritually stuck will get plenty out of this.
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Romance writer Julie Klassen talked about her fall 2025 titles, A Sea View Christmas and Whispers at Painswick Court (both from Bethany House) with an audience of 120 people at the Barnes and Noble in Roseville, Minn., on December 2. Among the fans were friends of hers from a local book club at the table, are (from l.) Beverly Snyder, Kristine Klein, Shari Minell, Emily Ryks, Phyllis Burlingame, and Tiffany Pavlish, standing behind Klassen.
Photo: David White