I was reading book reviews for a book I was planning to buy, and the major concern in the reviews was religion. The fact that religion was a prominent aspect of the book halted people from reading it made me unbelievably annoyed.
Tons of bloggers rant about how authors need to push the envelop and talk about "touchy" topics that aren't being properly explored like sex, diversity, etc, but when a book has a religion, that's too touchy for them to handle.
Religion is is like any controversial topic. It deserves to be explored.
My WIP deals with religion a lot. It's probably the most prominent idea in the story. I'm not shoving down a religion down anyone's throat, but I'm exploring the aspects of faith.
I want someone to read my book and relate my character's religious struggles instead of close off reading my book because it has religion.
I don't know where I was going with this, but basically, I hope people realize religion doesn't mean shoving faith down someone's throat, but it should be feed with the memory that not everyone likes the same food (in less flowery words: not everyone will agree with the religion explored, but they should keep an open mind)
