January 5, 2006
by Cheryl Heckler
Ecumenical News International

OXFORD, Ohio – User-friendly books with such titles as Spirituality For Dummies and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Jesus are becoming best-sellers in the United States.

"Many people ... see spirituality as a tool to be understood and used in life," said Mary Kupiec Cayton, a professor of history and American studies at Miami University in Oxford, OH. "These guides can help bring people up to speed on subjects where they have little prior knowledge."

The books are known for their distinctive, colorful packaging – the "Dummies" series is in yellow and black, the "Idiot's guides" in bright orange and white – and for their simple, straightforward explanations.

There are volumes about sacred texts, major religions, personal devotions and figures including Jesus, Buddha and Pope John Paul II. The series also take up such subjects as car repair, home design, computer programming and history.

More than 450 "Idiot's" titles are in print, and there are at least twice as many for "Dummies."

Nearly 50 of the volumes are related to religion; subjects include witchcraft and "divining spirits" as well as Islam, Judaism and Hinduism. Their authors are clergy, journalists and professors.

Such series are successful because they help people make sense of a subject quickly, Cayton said.

But some readers are offended.

"These guides are often written in a light-hearted way that might make some think that sacred topics weren't being taken seriously or were being handled superficially, Cayton said.

"For liberals, the guides might seem to indicate that there is one appropriate way of understanding complex topics, when in fact the ‘one appropriate way' conveyed by the author might be only one perspective ... of many," she said. "Alternatively, for more conservative believers, topics might be presented as matters of opinion when they ought to be seen as matters of faith."

Current subjects include C.S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, which recently was released as a film, and a book on Pope John Paul II marking the first anniversary of his death last April.

Presbyterian News Service