-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [ccbc-net] Sexuality and Religion
From: Rosanne Parry <rosanneparry@comcast.net>
Date: Tue, March 11, 2014 12:47 am
To: maggie_bo@comcast.net
Cc: Alison Hendon <alisonhendon@bookops.org>, CCBC-Net Network
<ccbc-net@lists.wisc.edu>

Factually accurate books about religion: that's a tough category to assess. Religious experience varies quite widely even within a denomination. What is true within one faith tradition varies over time, and sometimes even people within the same faith tradition disagree about what is true of their doctrine and practice. I'd hate to be the arbiter of religious truth in a library.

The titles that Sarah mentioned, if they contain statements medically proven to be inaccurate about women's health to further a pro-life position, seem to me to be in a different category completely. Do libraries have a propaganda section? Propaganda is probably a stronger term than I really intend, but willful misinformation is not exclusive to the topic of sexuality.

I do think the reason we often get the sensationalized stories from the darker side of religion, such as those Merri Lindgren mentioned, is in the nature of story. You have to go looking for conflict. The person for whom religion and sexuality happily coexists, probably comes of age, courts potential spouses, marries somebody, and goes on to live a long and contented life together. Hardly the stuff of a riveting novel.  But if your sexuality is in conflict with your faith, then you've got exactly the sort of conflict that drives a plot. The most common thing is to leave religion out of the picture completely in a novel. But where the characters experience of religion is a positive one, the religious element is usually a feature of the setting rather than a driving force in the narrative.

You might take a look at Francisco X. Stork's books, for a positive portrayal of religion though. The most recent one in particular. I believe it was called Irises.

Rosanne Parry

Written in Stone, 2013
Second Fiddle, 2011
Heart of a Shepherd, 2009
www.rosanneparry.com

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