Some of the reason the book isn't more widely read is that it's a more academic book that was written for an academic press.
Another reason is that I wish the book was better written and edited. The book pulled together a lot of different journal articles I had written and turned them into chapters. I worried about the disconnections between these articles, and so spent too much time at the beginnings and ends of chapters recapping and reviewing the argument. That makes the book very tiresome in spots with its repetition and redundancy. I think the book could be slashed by 50% to great effect.
Still, The Authenticity of Faith contains some of my most important and influential research if we use journal citations as a measure how how one's work is impacting the field.
And so, if you've never picked up (or were unable to get through) The Authenticity of Faith, I'd like to devote some posts working through what I consider to be its main moves, highlights, arguments, insights, provocations, and conclusions. As we do this, I'd also like to point to ways this research is evolving and being extended by others.
To get us started, a short video promo I did back in 2012 about the book:
