Aldredge-Clanton, Jann, with Larry E. Schultz. INCLUSIVE HYMNS FOR LIBERATION, PEACE, AND JUSTICE. INCLUSIVE HYMNS FOR LIBERATING CHRISTIANS. (book and CD) Fort Worth, Texas: Eakin Press. 2006, 2011 (196 pages, 126 pages. $18, $21).

Worship with inclusive/expansive language invites everyone to pray. Music to match adds depth and resonance to the experience. Try Jann Aldredge and Larry Schultz’s work to see how easy, melodious, and satisfying justice can sound.

Cannon, Katie Geneva, Emile M. Townes and Angela D. Sims. WOMANIST THEOLOGICAL ETHICS: A READER Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011 (312 pages, $30).

Though the authors of this opus span the breadth of Christian theological, ministerial, and Biblical scholarship, they share a common task in articulating ethics from the location of Black women’s bodies and experiences. This book represents an astute investigation of current issues in religious discourse and culture. It is a major contribution to justice theory.

Conway, Peg. EMBODYING THE SACRED: A SPIRITUAL PREPARATION FOR BIRTH. www.pegconway.com. 2012 (156 pages, $12.95).

The process of giving birth is largely ignored by religions. This spiritual primer helps (especially Christian) women prepare for a major event with prayers, readings, reflections, and activities like labyrinth walking.

Delgadillo, Theresa. SPIRITUAL MESTIZAJE: RELIGION, GENDER, RACE, AND NATION IN CONTEMPORARY CHICANA NARRATIVE. Durham and London: Duke University Press. 2011 (296 pages. $23.95).

Theresa Delgadillo elucidates Gloria Anzaldúa’s concept of “spiritual mestizaje,” a process of reaffirming an individual’s connection to the sacred by returning to their cultural roots, through a scholarly examination of various Chicana books and films. This is an impressive work that presents new possibilities for challenging traditional conceptions of religion, gender, race, and nation.

Ferder, Fran. ENTER THE STORY: BIBLICAL METAPHORS FOR OUR LIVES. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. 2010 (192 pages. $18).

Fran Ferder provides readers with an illuminating lens for many Christological Biblical stories, revealing ways that they can be understood as relevant and similar to our own lives and struggles. Necessary reading for those who wish to transform Scripture from flat morality lessons to opportunities to see our own lives as sacred.

Haddad, Yvonne Yazbeck. BECOMING AMERICAN?: THE FORGING OF ARAB AND MUSLIM IDENTITY IN PLURALIST AMERICA. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2011 (130 Pages, $24.95).

Rooted in a profound understanding of political and religious convergence in a pluralist America, Yvonne Haddad spins a nuanced and complex narrative that incorporates historical and contemporary issues for Muslim and Arab identity formation. She invites her readers to question their own assumptions and understandings of what it means to be American.

Keating, AnaLouise. TRANSFORMATION NOW! TOWARD A POST-OPPOSITIONAL POLITICS OF CHANGE. Chicago: U of Illinois, 2013, (280 pages, $30).

In her thorough investigation of womanist, feminist, and mestiza intellectual traditions, AnaLouise Keating advocates radical transformation that rejects oppositional consciousness and moves beyond theories of intersectionality. She interrogates the interstitial spaces of identity formation and political consciousness with specific regard to cultural dislocation, crisis, and convergence. Her is a helpful push beyond intersections toward threshold theorizing.

O’Connell, Maureen H. COMPASSION: LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR IN AN AGE OF GLOBALIZATION New York: Orbis Books, 2009 (256 pages, $32).

Maureen O’Connell examines the responsibilities of Christians in the global north for suffering in the world. She engages Biblical texts and contemporary theological ethics, particularly the work of Martha C. Nussbaum, Johann Baptist Metz, and Martin Luther King to develop a nuanced model of compassion from a perspective of privilege. She commissions imagination, empowerment, and relationality to bring about real change.

O’Gorman, Margaret and Anne Peper Perkins. LIVING TRUE: LESBIAN WOMEN SHARE STORES OF FAITH. St. Louis, MO: PenUltimate Press, Incorporated. 2013, (120 pages. $22.50).

Women’s spiritual experiences vary widely, but most lesbian/bi/trans women feel ignored unto oppressed in their communities. These Catholic lesbian/bi women speak in their own words. Sharing stories is a first step in a new direction.

Smith, Leslie Dorrough. RIGHTEOUS RHETORIC: SEX, SPEECH AND THE POLITICS OF CONCERNED WOMEN FOR AMERICA. New York: Oxford University Press (256 pages, $30).

“Chaos rhetoric” is the focus of this astute study of the U.S. Religious Right. Through a deep inquiry into the tactics of the Concerned Women for America, Leslie traces the lineage and influence of sensationalist religious language on American politics and morality wars. This book is required reading for those engaging faith and politics today.