The Conservative Christian Literary Ecosystem

Is literary culture in America on the decline? The decline of reading in all age groups is certainly well-documented and is grave cause for alarm. And so, when The Washington Post recently announced the demise of its vaunted books section, the response by Adam Kirsch in The Atlantic that “The Literary Ecosystem Is Dying” seemed justified at first glance. Kirsch, a seasoned reviewer himself, explains his theory for the vicious cycle he is observing: 

“People don’t want to read book reviews—at least, not enough people to make publishing them worthwhile. It’s a vicious circle. As people feel less of a need to keep up with new books, they stop reading reviews; publications respond by cutting books coverage, so readers don’t hear about new books; as a result, they buy fewer books, which makes publications think they’re not worth covering.”

I presume that Kirsch knows his readers well enough to accurately describe them. Yet, I wrote over forty book reviews in 2025 for twelve different publications that were not The Washington Post or The Atlantic. The vast majority of these reviews were, in point of fact, for publications that can be characterized as having a distinct Christian identity or otherwise being conservative enough to be open to Christian perspectives. Furthermore, I serve as Books Editor for a Christian ideas magazine, Mere Orthodoxy, where I also host a podcast on reading classic books. Mere Orthodoxy itself includes about ten review essays in every issue of its print magazine, published thrice a year. But print is only a fraction of our book coverage. Additional reviews and book-related interviews run online, amounting to about three or four books pieces each week, sometimes more. While many of the books reviewed are written by and for Christians, others are intended for more general audiences—poetry collections, novels, works of history and social science, memoirs, and more. All of these essays and interviews find readers and prompt further dialogue and conversation. 

From my perspective, the Christian literary ecosystem is thriving—expanding rather than contracting. And while many magazines for which I regularly write do not have a designated books section or a separate books editor, they publish multiple reviews weekly, interweaving them organically with news essays, analysis pieces, and op-eds. The persistence of a conservative/Christian literary culture begs the question: could there be something different about conservative readers—and, especially, conservative Christian readers? Might Christians—a people of the Book—have a more dedicated relationship with books and reading after all?

I would like to think so. I speculate that this is because Christians, as believers in the objective nature of truth, beauty, and goodness, are more inclined to see themselves as taking part in a literary culture geared towards a constructive vision of illuminating the human condition in ways that honor God. Atheists and non-believers can, obviously, also engage in literary criticism, but there is an intrinsic difficulty with articulating a positive vision of what constitutes good literature as opposed to utilizing endless critical theories to analyze the myriad power structures at work in any text. It stands to reason that Christians would be particularly interested in the collaborative endeavor of what Germans call Geisteswissenschaft, literally the “science of the mind/spirit.” If it’s believed that uncovering the human spirit is an act of worship, and literature is one avenue through which God can be glorified, then the real question is why there aren’t even more Christians involved in the literary scene. 

With regard to the declining interest in book reviews, I wonder if the approach taken to much literature feels less about constructively contributing to a broader literary culture and more about tearing down the work of others. Editors do have a distinct responsibility to stretch their readers’ tastes at times by presenting them with a variety of perspectives, both familiar and novel. But there is also a degree of trust in the balance, as readers expect a magazine to contribute to the discourse in ways that are both interesting—presenting new ideas and interpretations—but also responsible by not following the latest fad too closely. A books section that does not provide what the reader has been hoping for has, in some cases, only itself to blame for not understanding the readers’ needs and thus becoming irrelevant. This matters, because most magazines are, to a great extent, reader-supported publications. Readers vote with their feet—and their wallets. 

This is not to say that all publishing should become a sleazy sell-out business in which pageviews are the only currency. Rather, writers and editors have a considerable responsibility to edify and uplift our often blighted discourse on politics and culture. Books that delve into complex themes in nuanced ways allow us to address the pressing issues of our time (and all time) away from the hyperbolic tone of Twitter (X) and the 24 hour news cycle. Such is, indeed, one of the greatest arguments for reading not only great books of the ancient variety—Homer’s Odyssey, for example, which continues to enthrall because the quest for home and the sense of not having control over the vicissitudes of life are intrinsic to the human condition—but also newer books that continue to perpetuate the conversation about life’s great questions, updated for the times we live in. 

Ultimately, I believe in the civilizational significance of reading for the formation of an educated and thoughtful citizenry. But this is not just my perspective, but that of America’s Founding Fathers, including Thomas Jefferson, who cited similar reasons for founding the University of Virginia. And while universities continue to carry significant responsibility in equipping thoughtful readers for America’s democracy, magazines play a key role in supporting the informed debates that make a liberal society such as ours possible. So no, book reviews are not dead—and book reviewing is just as energetic now as it was in the heyday of Washington Post’s book review section. For readers who want to know about new books, reviews are all around, and more publications than ever will welcome you with un-paywalled arms. Pick up and read.