Does Jesus Love You? Books About Gays and Religion

Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground With the Religious by Chris Stedman (Beacon Press, $24.95)
"There and Back Again" may be a subtitle to The Hobbit, but it could also be applied to Chris Stedman's new book about his journey from born-again Christian to openly gay atheist. In his book he discusses how some atheists have demonized religion and how he hopes to enlighten believers and nonbelievers with his view from both sides of faith. (BeaconPress.org)

Does Jesus Really Love Me? by Jeff Chu (HarperCollins, $26.99)
One's definition of love may not be the same as the next person's, and that is never more apparent than in Jeff Chu's religious pilgrimage across America. The confusion Christians experience trying to balance their contemporary belief systems with following the Bible is at an all-time high, and Chu's quest shows America's identity crisis in a blinding light. (HarperCollins.com)

Torn: Rescuing the Gospel From the Gays vs. Christians Debate by Justin Lee (Jericho Books, $21.99)
Much as in the Natalie Imbruglia song of the same name, Christians today are torn -- about how to love their Bible and their gay family members or friends. As someone who felt he was called to the evangelical Christian ministry at a young age, even though he is gay, Justin Lee explores how gay Christians can be the peacemakers for their conflicted fellow believers. (JerichoBooks.com)

Pray the Gay Away by Bernadette Barton (NYU Press, $27.95)
Aside from the occasional visit to Dollywood, the Bible Belt is usually not a top tourist destination for gays and lesbians, but author Bernadette Barton goes "behind enemy lines" with this in-depth look at LGBT life in America's most fundamentalist corners, places where many are still fighting for their rights. (NYUPress.org)

How to Be Secular by Jacques Berlinerblau (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26)
While secularists can get the side eye from the religious right and atheists alike, Jacques Berlinerblau brings to light the history of secularism and how to tell if you just may be a secularist and not even realize it. (HMHbooks.com)

Enlightenment for Nitwits by Shepherd Hoodwin (Summerjoy Press, $14.95)

Above All Things by Shari Johnson (Changing Lives Press, $18.99)

Ready to Answer by Reverend Marilyn Bowens (AuthorHouse, $19.99)

Biblical Sex by Walter Lamp (Running Light Publishing Company, $14.99)

The Christwire Handbook by Jack Gould, Tyson Bowers III, and the Christwire Flock (Citadel Press, $14.95)

You Got to Be Kidding!: The Cultural Arsonist's Literal Reading of the Bibleby Joe Wenke

(Trans Uber, $9.99)

Born the oldest of 11 children in a strict Catholic household, comedian Joe Wenke, a self-proclaimed "trisexual," dissects the Bible and asks questions that many never thought or dared to ask. Example: If the Wise Men were so wise, why did they get lost? How big was Noah's Ark and who cleaned up after the animals? A radically funny book that examines how ludicrous parts of the Bible are when taken literally. Bonus, his partner, transgender model Gisele, graces the cover. (JoeWenke.org)