Hi all! It was World Religion Day this week, which got me thinking about religion and faith in romance spaces.

I come from a very conservative evangelical background and have done a lot of deconstruction over the years to the point where faith isn’t part of my day-to-day life, but I absolutely value and respect the importance that faith and religion has in the lives of so many. Also some of my first romance reads as a teenager were inspirational Christian ones from my church library 😂 so there’s a nostalgia factor for me too.

Although I’ll generally put down a book that relies heavily on faith themes, I appreciate how it ties into traditions and cultural celebrations and it’s fun to learn more about characters through that lens. I recently read {Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin} that had three faiths interacting and sharing traditions in a really cool way, and {The Trouble with Hating You by Sajnii Patel} was a great glimpse into Hindu family and traditions for me.

I’ve also read books that include religious themes as a critical negative plot point, such as {The Two Week Roommate by Roxie Noir} that features a hero estranged from his evangelical family, and {The Last Hour of Gann by R Lee Smith} which heavily relies on the hero’s completely fictional religion.

So, what are your thoughts? Do you enjoy faith themes in romances, or prefer to keep those things separate? Have you read any books that you remember being a great and healthy representation of religion in romance for you?