I love to read. Given a choice between taking a trip down the Amazon River or reading about such a trip, I would undoubtedly choose the latter. I have the personality tests to prove it. Reading is a pleasure for me. Of course, it can be work when it is slogging through a dense academic monograph, but it remains enjoyable work. I always believed that being a university professor—which I was for twenty-five years—was one of the biggest scams around because I got paid to read! . . . Although I am no longer paid to indulge in this passion, I continue reading because it is entertaining, productive, meaningful, and fun. I have always read fiction, and especially relish mysteries (British), thrillers, and police procedurals. I also like many English and French classics, and am indebted to a colleague for introducing me to Middlemarch: I have read all of George Eliot now, including her essays.
One thing I have begun to observe, is that the authors of the classics usually understand religion better than do novelists today. Religion is neither good or evil in the classics, but simply there, a part of people’s lives, though of course there are exceptions to this rule. Because my professional background is in Religious Studies, I may be particularly critical in this regard. It was always clear to me when I read student papers and projects which students had an academic understanding of religion, and which had what I call a “Sunday School” understanding; that is, a sixth-grade level of sophistication when it came to religious subjects. This distinction between the two primary approaches to religion—the scholarly and the confessional—is also apparent in contemporary fiction. What I’d like to do in this blog is discuss religious fiction from an academic perspective. What I mean by religious fiction is both broad and narrow: broad in the sense of including books others might not consider particularly religious; and narrow in the sense that I will not be discussing inspirational or motivational novels, of whatever sectarian outlook. I like novels that include religion and religious sentiments naturally as part of the plot. I have read and re-read Thornton Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey, pondering the existential questions it raises. This is also true for Albert Camus’ The Plague and for Graham Greene’s A Burnt-Out Case. In other words, I plan to focus on literary fiction, which takes religious problems and issues seriously in a well-crafted way. What I won’t be covering is anything from the Christian fiction market that developed out of the culture wars of the 1980s. The Left Behind series may be the best-known outside the target audience for these books. I will probably skip the current angel-oriented and supernatural fiction as well. In other words, readers will not find discussions of The Shack or The Celestine Prophecy here, although they might find a text like The Exorcist, a religious book read largely for non-religious reasons. So I invite you to suggest titles for me to read and reflect upon. I am open, with the caveats noted above. Let’s read together!
Theresa Yugar
8/16/2015 10:11:52 am
I want to read more of Isabel Allende's books.
Rebecca Moore
8/17/2015 10:53:19 am
Me too! Do you have some specific ones in mind?
Rick Freeman
8/17/2015 10:25:43 am
Becky:
Rebecca Moore
8/17/2015 10:54:26 am
I'm starting a reading list! I'm getting great suggestions. I'll report next time on what people are telling me to read.
Sandi Beckett
8/17/2015 03:43:53 pm
I met you years ago at a 1st United Methodist Reno retreat- I still reflect upon the subject-
Rebecca Moore
8/18/2015 11:17:03 am
Wow, thanks for the great list of books, Sandi. I'm sure I remember you. I'll be adding yours to a master list, soon to be posted. Stay tuned!
Sandra K Beckett
8/18/2015 12:03:02 pm
Marilynne Robinson is the fascinating writer of the above mentioned Housekeeping ( a friend writer/ poet/screen play writer said he thought it was the most well written book he had ever read!)
Sandra K Beckett
8/18/2015 12:01:03 pm
Oops-somehow got deleted! So resubmitting-My neighbor just read Still Life by Louise Penny and said she has been mulling the metaphor over and over how we all are Still Lives-it inspired and helped her focus! I love mysteries-PD James being one of my favorite authors, and Jacqueline Winspear (her intuitive woman detective Maisie Dobbs , a contemplative intuit ;wonderful historical history mystery books!)
Pat S.
8/19/2015 02:36:37 am
I read all the time, but it's often a re-read. Now it's Moby Dick, surely one of the greatest pieces of American religious fiction. I'm reading it side-by-side with a tome called Unpainted to the Last. This is a book dealing with the art conjoining Moby D.
Rebecca Moore
8/20/2015 04:29:30 am
Hi Pat S. Interesting suggestions, which I will add to the recommended list. Thanks for writing!
Deb Kirby
8/22/2015 10:30:16 am
Becky, I just finished "The Anchoress" by Robyn Cadwallader. An interesting historical novel. I can't say that I enjoyed it due to the archaic Catholism and male dominance, but I have never heard of the 'Anchorite' before so I learned something. Now on to a bit lighter fare -- maybe Nora Ephron?
Rebecca Moore
8/24/2015 12:46:19 pm
Hey, The Anchoress is actually on my nightstand. Looking forward to it!
deb kirby
8/22/2015 10:37:55 am
This book is on my 're-read list.' Never has prose made me want to put on another (soft) blanket, wash my body and clothes, be thankful I don't sleep on moldy straw and be grateful I live in the times I do. "Burial Rites." http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333319-burial-rites Comments are closed.
|
Author Rebecca Moore is Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at San Diego State University. She is currently Reviews Editor for Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions and Co-Director of The Jonestown Institute. Archives
December 2021
CategoriesContact:
[email protected] |