The rise and fall of the Christian bookstore

THE WEEK
By Jonathan Merritt

Back in the 1990s, it often seemed that every city and town in America had a strip mall with a Christian bookstore where you could purchase WWJD bracelets and enough devotional books to fill up the Ark of the Covenant. Over the last decade, Christian bookstores across the nation have been shuttering. But Christian consumers should not let their hearts go troubled. This trend may turn out to be good news for the faithful. But here's the real shocker: The purging of religious kitsch, better quality prose, and a greater diversity of ideas — means the loss for retailers is a gain for readers. Hallelujah. [More]