USA Today’s Cathy Lynn Grossman took a look at the faith of four fellow religion journalists in a Thursday roundup of new books by them _ and about them.
Said Cathleen Falsani, author of “Sin Boldly: A Field Guide for Grace”: “It reorients your whole being to see the grace in life. It makes me grateful, more compassionate and hopeful _ all so important to embrace in this nervous world.”
William Lobdell, who wrote “Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America – and Found Unexpected Peace,” admits to still praying even though he’s now an unbeliever. “Maybe it’s fundamental to the human condition: We’re the only species that knows we’re going to die,” he said.
Peter Manseau, author of a book on the world of relics, “Rag and Bone: A Journey Among the World’s Holy Dead,” concludes: “Authenticity is irrelevant. The power is always in the hands of the believers, who decide what they are.”
And Barbara Bradley Hagerty, in “Fingerprints of God: The Search for the Science of Spirituality,” writes about prayer shaping our brains. “You can find peace and calm and a sense of unity with the universe that other people cannot usually get to,” she said.
(Photo is of Falsani, who also is a Religion News Service columnist.)