Signs of stirring times

Warren Bolon

On a weekend in late May this year, 52,000 men filled RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., paying $55 each to attend a "Promise Keepers" rally. They promised among other things to practice "spiritual, moral, and sexual purity"—and they bought books and tapes on living more godly lives (The Washington Post, May 28, 1995).

That same weekend, The New York Times bestseller lists were brimming with books focused in various ways on spirituality—six of the fourteen top-selling nonfiction paperback books had spiritual or inspirational themes.

A week later, visitors touring the 1995 American Booksellers Association publishing trade show in Chicago found dozens of books with spiritual themes in the General books section, and a new Religious/Spiritual/Inspirational section. It was a case of trickle-up economics—many American bookstores have had such sections for quite some time, and have been increasing the shelf space for books with spiritual themes because customer demand has been steadily growing.

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