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ADULTS IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. WILLIAM S. BOVARD. $1.25. Revell $1.25. Methodist B'k Concern $1.50. Doran $1.75. Doran THE MEN'S CLASS IN ACTION. F. H. MORSE. A STUDY OF ADULT LIFE. THEODORE G. SOARES. 70c. Methodist B'k Concern 10c. Pilgrim Press CHARACTER BUILDING IN A DEMOCRACY. WALTER S. ATHEARN. $1.75. Macmillan New poster of the National Association of Book Publisers by Adolph Treidler to be used in feature displays during Lent. Booksellers may have an extra copy on application. Small cards, reproductions of the poster, are one dollar a hundred THE Publishers' Weekly The American BOOK TRADE JOURNAL Founded by F. Leypoldt EDITORS R. R. BowKER F. G. MELCHER 62 W. 45th St., New York City Subscription, Zones 1-5 $5; Zones 6-8 $5.50; Foreign $6 15 cents a copy February 19, 1927 HOLD every man a debtor to his profession, from the which, as men of course do seek to receive countenance and profit, so ought they of duty to endeavor themselves, by way of amends, to be a help and ornament thereunto. -BACON. The Religious Renaissance W HEN February comes, the gardener in this part of the world begins to keep a watchful eye upon his tulip bulbs to see them poke their noses up above the dark earth and grow a trifle taller every day. So the bookseller, with the approach of the Lenten season, brings the religious books forward from the dark shelves to the chief place of honor at the front of his shop. Only this year it is very doubtful if religious books were content at any season to stay modestly in a dark corner. There has been such a decided religious renaissance that religion and religious books have been a very live topic, so much so that two religious books have captured and held in the year's totals the second and third places on the best selling non-fiction list as another page of this issue relates in detail. But it isn't only "The Man Nobody Knows" and "The Book Nobody Knows," altho they have been the most conspicuous best sellers among religious books, which have attracted wide audiences. Papini's "Life of Christ" was another notable best seller among religious books. Mary Austin's "The Small Town Man," and Rollin Lynde Hartt's "The Man Himself," William Lyon Phelps' "The Carpenter of Nazareth" won many readers, and so did the Rev. Harry Emerson Fosdick's series, of which it is estimated more than 1,000,000 copies have been sold. Dr. Grenfell's books have always been popular, and there is a new one, "What Christ Means to Me." "The Best Sermons of the Year," published by Harcourt, Brace & Company won what is perhaps a rather surprising number of readers. The number of new religious books published has again increased, as shown by the annual tables of book production. In 1925 the number had increased from 654 new titles in 1924 to 729, and in 1926 total showed an advance to 778 new titles. A symptom of the religious renaissance is the questionnaire conducted by 200 newspapers in 16 cities in January this year. About 125,000 people answered it. Of these 91% express a belief in God, 77% say they are active church members, and 85% regard the Bible as being inspired as no other book is inspired. The questionnaire was prepared by a committee of 100 clergymen and was conducted at the instance of the Church Advertising Department of the International Advertising Association. Dr. Charles Stelzle, director of the religious census, analyzed the returns, and from them concludes that religion is increasing. Dr. Stelzle gives the following statistics: In 1800, he says, Protestant church members numbered 7% of the population; in 1850, 15%; in 1870, 17%; in 1880, 20%; in 1890, 22%; in 1900, 24%; in 1910, 24%; in 1925, approximately 26%. Statistics for the Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic and Jewish churches are harder to obtain, but these bodies, too, have made steady progress until the church membership of the United States numbers about 43% of the entire population. In commenting on the questionnaire, Dr. Stelzle said that, tho the number who voted was comparatively small, they represented a great horizontal slice of the population of the country, but the difference between the active church members and those who are committed to religion and should be sympathetic toward the doctrines for which the church stands offers a large opportunity and a challenge to the church. At the American booksellers' convention in St. Louis last May steps were taken to organize the religious publishers and book |