A reader e-mailed recently to remind me that back in November of 2009, I promised to write columns about each of the 10 Dewey Decimal categories. I wrote two columns, then stopped at the 200s – the category reserved for religion. Remember what your mother always told you? "Don't discuss religion and politics in public." So, with apologies to mothers everywhere, we'll take up the topic of religion this month. More apologies are forthcoming – the next Dewey category, the 300s is "Social Sciences," which includes a bevy of political hot topics!

We've all heard of Billy Graham, Desmond Tutu, Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa. But what of Pema Chodron, Mary Daly, Huston Smith or Meher Baba? They are all included in Ira Rifkins's book, Spiritual Leaders Who Changed the World. Subtitled as "The Essential Handbook to the Past Century of Religion," this collection describes 75 spiritual leaders whose works and words had an impact on the 20th century. A brief summary of their lives, examples of their written or spoken words, and recommendations for further reading, make this a valuable resource.

In the 1920s, the satirist H.L. Mencken dubbed the southern United States the "Bible Belt." While this region of the country is often defined by its Bible-based religions, there's a whole lot more going on Down South if Wendy Reed's and Jennifer Home's book All Out of Faith is any indication. Reed and Home collected essays from 16 Southern women writers from a wide range of religious persuasions. It's a thought-provoking and fun collection.

As someone who describes himself as "neither wholly a believer nor wholly a skeptic," Bill Moyers has probably done more to encourage intelligent conversation on religious topics than any other television journalist. He's interviewed Buddhist monks and Catholic nuns, imams and atheists, reverends and rabbis. Some of his best recorded interviews include: The Wisdom of Faith with Huston Smith; Bill Moyers on Faith and Reason; Islam: Facing East, Facing West; and Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth. Be sure to also check out Genesis: A Living Conversation, the companion volume to the PBS series of the same name.

A book I was surprised to see in the 200s is The Tracker by Tom Brown, Jr. I'd read it years ago more for the wilderness survival information than the incidental spirituality content. But now holding a copy in my hand, I see on the cover, "The most powerful and magical high spiritual adventure since The Teachings of Don Juan." So, the 200s it is. Brown is a survival expert who claims to have learned his tracking skills from a Lipan Apache elder named Stalking Wolf. There's some controversy about the validity of these claims, but The Tracker is a fascinating read nonetheless. Other titles by Brown include Awakening Spirits and The Way of the Scout.

For more titles, visit the Jefferson County Public Library website or ask your librarian for suggestions.

More Titles

Beyond our Differences, directed by Peter Bisanz
In God's Name: Wisdom for the World's Great Spiritual Leaders, produced by Jules and Gedeon Naudet
Traveling Mercies, Grace (Eventually), and Plan B by Anne Lamott (not shelved in the 200s, but in Biography)
The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
The Friendly Guide to Mythology by Nancy Hathaway
Also, check out LibraryThing for a list of books from the 200s.

Some "Religious" Fiction Titles
Birds without Wings by Louis de Bernières
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Blasphemy by Douglas Preston
Also, check out LibraryThing for more fiction with a religious theme.