Constantine's Sword by James Carroll Read the review Read an excerpt Discuss this book on our boards Buy it This controversial study of Christianity's treatment of the Jews from imperial Rome to Auschwitz is a feat of research, literary skill and historical imagination. In exposing the two faiths' continuing deep entanglements, the book is a testament to what happens when any religion becomes invested with power. Carroll's attempt to expiate the Church's past avoids, Harvey Cox says in Beliefnet's review, self-righteous breast-beating. Instead, Carroll, an ex-Catholic priest, seems to have internalized the history of the Church since Constantine adopted Christianity as Rome's official religion, and presents it as a seamless and compelling story. It is our second Beliefnet Book of the Year. Our other finalists follow.

Paradise Park by Allegra Goodman Read the review Read an excerpt Discuss this book on our boards Buy it Sharon Spiegelman, the guileless narrator of this funny, sympathetic novel, begins her new life on a whale-watching cruise off Hawaii, where she sees God. Sharon's search to find that moment of bliss again leads her to Nature worship, Buddhism, born-again Christianity, self-help seminars and Judaism. Sharon's naive enthusiasm is occasionally exasperating, but serves Goodman in her unflinching examination of what we expect from religion, why it often fails us and we it.

A New Religious America by Diana L. Eck Read the review Read an excerpt Read an interview with the author Buy it This report from the director of Harvard University's Pluralism Project gets beyond the number-crunching and religious demographics to bring alive the ethnic diversity in the United States' houses of worship, and how it is affecting natives and immigrants alike.

The Places That Scare You by Pema Chodron Read the review Read an excerpt Discuss this book on our boards Buy it This guide to becoming a "spiritual warrior" by a prominent Buddhist nun became a book for the times after 9/11. While many try to be fearless by being strong, Chodron believes that we're more likely to hold our own by remaining open and vulnerable to all our feelings.

Living a Life That Matters by Harold S. Kushner Read the review Read an excerpt Discuss this book on our boards Buy it Taking the biblical patriarch Jacob as his model, the nationally known rabbi urges us--and shows us how--to make integrity our primary spiritual goal.

Heaven Below by Grant Wacker Read the review Read an excerpt Discuss this book on our boards Buy it We could recommend this history of early Pentacostalism on the basis of its wit and bright prose alone. It also happens to be a beautifully researched study of a group whose influence in the United States is at its peak.

My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk Read the review Read an excerpt Discuss this book on our boards Buy it A murder mystery set in the crumbling Ottoman empire, this novel, translated from the Turkish, entertainingly examines the clash between Islam and the West.

A New Kind of Christian by Brian D. McLaren Read an excerpt Discuss this book on our boards Buy it McLaren's dialogue between two fictional Christians is the latest--and among the best--contributions to evangelical Christians' continuing discussion about their place in the postmodern age.

The Truth of Catholicism by George Weigel Read an excerpt Discuss this book on our boards Buy it Weigel's latest is a striking and persuasive Catholic apologia for the 21st century.

The Particulars of Rapture by Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg Read the review Read an excerpt Discuss this book on our boards Buy it Zornberg approaches the Book of Exodus as a psychological document, turning the familiar story of Moses into a spiritual biography of the Jews.