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Do You Know the Legacy of Spiritual Deviancy?
Do You Know the Legacy of Spiritual Deviancy?
... And every faithful folk and blues musician, tattooed humanitarian, Christ-like queer, kinky Christian, antifascist protestor, anti-war pacifist, socialist demonstrator, political punk, prophetic poet, ex-evangelical and deconstructionist, dual-faith bruja balancing religion and folk tradition, and everyone who has been othered by the imperialist church.Â
The Primers
The Primers
You want to get into a mindset of hope and resistance... but where to start? These are picks from your fellow sacred deviants to help you break into the world of faith-based activism. These books rotate occasionally.
Our Pick for:
Becoming Inclusive
Blair Imani
Our Pick for:
Organizing & Activism
Mariame Kaba
Our Pick for:
Hope in Difficult Times
Bergman & Montgomery
Our Pick for:
Undoing Christian Racism
Jemar Tisby
This month's featured book is...
This month's featured book is...
Joyful Militancy
Joyful Militancy
Per JoyfulMilitancy.com:
Why do radical movements and spaces sometimes feel laden with fear, anxiety, suspicion, self-righteousness and competition? The authors call this phenomenon rigid radicalism: congealed and toxic ways of relating that have seeped into radical movements, posing as the ‘correct’ way of being radical. In conversation with organizers and intellectuals from a wide variety of currents, the authors explore how rigid radicalism smuggles itself into radical spaces, and how it is being undone. Joyful Militancy foregrounds forms of life in the cracks of Empire, revealing the ways that fierceness, tenderness, curiosity, and commitment can be intertwined. Available for free online.
Activists from Around the World
Activists from Around the World
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but these books have brought hope and inspiration in trying times to SSD and our friends. We hope that this is a starting place for your journey. We've included many anthologies to help you get the breadth of these authors' works, but we always recommend reading their unabridged books when an author really connects to your soul.
* There are some books that belong in multiple categories, but we placed them in a single category for simplicity's sake. We tried to pick who would be the more likely audience of one, two, or even more overlapping identities. Also, while many of these are Christian, we include perspectives from other faiths/non-faiths.
Arab & Middle Eastern Voices
Arab & Middle Eastern Voices
Persepolis: the Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
Decolonizing Palestine: the Land, the People, the Bible by Mitri Raheb
Faith Beyond Despair: Building Hope in the Holy Land by Elias Chacour
Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
Islam & Democracy by Fatema Mernissi
We Are Displaced by Malala Yousafzai
The Essential Nawal El Saadawi: A Reader by Nawal El Saadawi
Arabic Poetry
Sea and Frog by Etel Adnan
The Essential Rumi by Jalal al-Din Rumi (translated by Coleman Barks)
A Blade of Grass: New Palestinian Poetry compiled by Naomi Foyle
Asian & Pacific Islander Voices
Asian & Pacific Islander Voices
True Peace Work: Essential Writings on Engaged Buddhism with Thich Nhat Hahn, the Dalai Lama & more
Living for Change by Grace Lee Boggs
Essential Writings of Thich Nhat Hahn
Essential Writings of Mahatma Gandhi
Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People by Helen Zia
America Is in the Heart: A Personal History by Carlos Bulosan
More to be added shortly.
Black & African Voices
Black & African Voices
Essential Writings of Howard Thurman
A Testament of Hope : The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luthor King, Jr.
The Day God Saw Me as Black by D. Danyelle Thomas
Let This Radicalize You by Mariame Kaba & Kelly Hayes
The Complete Poetry of Maya Angelou
The Portable Malcolm X Reader: A Man Who Stands for Nothing Will Fall for Anything by Malcolm X
The Cross & the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone
Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations by Cole Arthur Riley
God Is Not a Christian: And Other Provocations by Desmond Tutu
Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, & the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Davis
The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations of Toni Morrison
European Minority Voices
European Minority Voices
Essential Writings of Abraham Joshua Heschel
For Times Such as These: A Radical's Guide to the Jewish Year by Rabbi Ariana Katz & Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg
Leo Tolstoy: Spiritual Writings by Charles Moore
Noam Chomsky's Little Book of Selected Quotes: on Society, Capitalism, and Democracy by Noam Chomsky
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin (specifically version with intro by Margaret Atwood)
A Testament to Freedom: the Essential Writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
More to be added shortly.
Indigenous American Voices
Indigenous American Voices
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Buffalo Shout, Salmon Cry: Conversations on Creation, Land Justice, and Life Together by Steve Heinrichs
As Long as Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock by Dina Gilio-Whitaker
Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future by Patty Krawec
Restoring the Kinship Worldview: Indigenous Voices Introduce 28 Precepts for Rebalancing Life on Planet Earth by Tahinkpe Topa & Darcia Narvaez
Anarcho-Indigenism: Conversations on Land and Freedom edited by Francis Dupuis-Déri and Benjamin Pillet
Native: Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering God by Kaitlin Curtice
Black Elk Speaks: The Complete Edition by John Neihardt
Our Way, A Parallel History: An Anthology of Native History, Reflection, and Story by Julie Cajune
Indigenous Theology and the Western Worldview: A Decolonized Approach to Christian Doctrine by Randy S. Woodley
Latinx & South American Voices
Latinx & South American Voices
Reflections on His Life & Writings by Fr. Oscar Romero
A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, and Salvation by Gustavo Guitierrez
Unbuild Walls: Why Immigrant Justice Needs Abolition by Silky Shah
Global Justice: Three Essays on Liberation and Socialism by Ernesto Che Guevera
A Case for Open Borders by John Washington
The Border Crossed Us by Justin Akers Chacón
More to be added shortly.
Special Topics
Special Topics
These are deeper dives topics that intersect with the core of who SSD is. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but these books have brought hope and inspiration in trying times to many sacred deviants. We hope that this is a starting place for your journey. We've included many anthologies to help you get the breadth of these authors' works, but we always recommend reading their unabridged books when an author really connects to your soul.
* There are some books that belong in multiple categories, but we placed them in a single category for simplicity's sake. We tried to pick who would be the more likely audience of one, two, or even more overlapping identities. Also, while many of these are Christian, we include perspectives from other faiths/non-faiths.
Activist Theology for Pastors & Spiritual Leaders
Activist Theology for Pastors & Spiritual Leaders
A Womanist Theology of Worship: Liturgy, Justice, & Communal Righteousness by Lisa Allen
The Africana Bible: Reading Israel's Scriptures from Africa and the African Diaspora by Valerie Bridgeman
The Practice of Prophetic Imagination: Preaching an Emancipating Word by Walter Brueggemann
Reading the Bible from the Margins by Miguel A. De La Torre
The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings  by Bart. D. Ehrman
Informing the Future: Social Justice in the New Testament by Joseph A. Grassi
 An Introduction to Christian Ethics: Goals, Duties, & Virtues by Robin W. Lovin
Hope Is Here!: Spiritual Practices for Pursuing Justice and Beloved Community by Luther E. Smith
How to Preach a Dangerous Sermon by Frank A. Thomas
 Preaching the Headlines: Possibilities & Pitfalls by Lisa L. Thompson
Class Solidarity & Class-Conscious Theology
Class Solidarity & Class-Conscious Theology
The vast majority of books on this page promote class solidarity as a key element. However, these are additional readings that we recommend.
Essential Writings of William Stringfellow
Essential Writings of Daniel Berrigan
By Little & By Little: the Selected Writings of Dorothy Day
Principalities in Particular: A Practical Theology of the Powers that Be by Bill Wylie-Kellerman
Why Socialism? by Albert Einstein
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle
Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond
Caste: the Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
The Communist Manifesto and Other Revolutionary Writings: Marx, Marat, Paine, Mao Zedong, Gandhi and Others compiled by Bob Blaisdell
Disability Activism & Liberation
Disability Activism & Liberation
The Anti-Ableist Manifesto: Smashing Stereotypes, Forging Change, and Building a Disability-Inclusive World by Tiffany Yu
The Future Is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes and Mourning Songs by Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Disability Pride: Dispatches from a Post-ADA World by Ben Mattlin
Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century by Alice Wong
We've Been Too Patient: Voices from Radical Mental Health by Robert Whitaker
Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole by Julia Watts Belser
My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church by Amy Kenny
The Disabled God: Toward a Liberatory Theology of Disability by Nancy Eiesland
Disability and the Church: A Vision for Diversity and Inclusion by Lamar Hardwick
Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey
Environmental Activism & Liberation
Environmental Activism & Liberation
The Great Work: Our Way into the Future by Thomas Berry
The Spirit of Soul Food by Christopher Carter
A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver
The Intersectional Environmentalist by Leah Thomas
Slow Violence & the Environmentalism of the Poor by Rob Nixon
Ecowomanism by Melanie Harris
Something in the Woods Loves You by Jarod K. Anderson
The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery
Post Growth: Life After Capitalism by Tim Jackson
The Land in Our Bones: Plantcestral Herbalism and Healing Cultures from Syria to the Sinai by Layla Feghali
Feminist & Womanist Thought & Liberation
Feminist & Womanist Thought & Liberation
Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity by Judith Butler
Women, Culture, & Politics by Angela Davis
Feminism is for Everybody by Bell Hooks
How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Sisters in the Wilderness: the Challenge of Womanist God by Delores Williams
Soul Talk: the New Spirituality of African American Women by Akasha Gloria Hull
God is a Black Woman by Christena Cleveland
Queer Activist Thought & Theology
Queer Activist Thought & Theology
The Selected Works of Audre Lorde edited by Roxane Gay
UnClobber: Rethinking Our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality by Colby Martin
Becoming Dangerous: Witchy Femmes, Queer Conjurers & Magical Rebels by Katie West & Jasmine Elliot
Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, & Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements by Charlene A. Carruthers
Queer & Indecent: An Introduction to the Theology of Marcella Althaus Reid by Thia Cooper
Our Lives Matter: A Womanist Queer Theology by Pamela Lightsey
Religious Trauma: Queer Stories in Estrangement & Return by Brooke Peterson
Radical Love: Introduction to Queer Theology by Patrick Cheng
We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samira Habib
Queer Jihad: LGBT Muslims on Coming Out, Activism, & the Faith by Afdhere Jama
Unlearning Toxic Christianity
Unlearning Toxic Christianity
Understanding Christian Nationalism
American Idolatry by Andrew L. Whitehead
Jesus & John Wayne by Kristin Kobes du Mez
The Color of Compromise: the Truth About the American Church's Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby
Religious Trauma
When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion by Laura Anderson
Holy Ghosted: Spiritual Anxiety, Religious Trauma, and the Language of Abuse by Tiffany Brooks
Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church by Megan Phelps-Roper
Changing Churches & Christianity
Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth: 12 Questions Christians Should Ask About Social Justice by Thaddeus Williams
When the Church Harms God's People: Becoming Faith Communities That Resist Abuse, Pursue Truth, and Care for the Wounded by Diane Langberg
Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help, And How to Reverse It by Robert Lupton
Essential Writings on Love by Richard Rohr
Compassion in Practice by Frank Rogers
Faith Seeking Understanding by Daniel Migliore
Becoming Church: A Trail Guide for Starting Fresh Expressions by Luke Edwards
Rally: Communal Prayers for Lovers of Jesus and Justice by Britney Winn Lee
Bread for the Resistance: Forty Devotions for Justice People by Donna Barber
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