This book list does not contain the predictable apologetics works. Those books are mostly written for you to read as a believer and be able to convey the truths with clarity and compassion in conversation with others.
However, the latter are not conversation starters with your non-Catholic (and possibly anti-Catholic) friends, family, coworkers, or neighbors. The Bible itself isn’t a purely apologetic work or debate dialogue. It has people’s lives in it—real stories, raw Psalms, a heritage passed on to help generations understand themselves, each other, life, meaning, right and wrong, and God Himself.
So, is there anything you can hand to someone, saying, “I liked this a lot. Tell me what you think”?
Or an authentic, personal way of responding when someone asks you what they can read to learn more about Catholicism (other than, you know, the Bible, Catechism, Vatican website…)?
Absolutely! Here are just six books to charitably gift or lend to non-Catholics.
A recipient may react negatively, positively, or neutrally no matter how you present these books, but these are (almost) guaranteed wins. Why? Because these books share stories (fictional and non-fictional), each book is a conversation start—or conversion starter, if you will.
6 Books To Give Non-Catholics
Let’s take a look…
1. Rome Sweet Home by Scott Hahn
Years ago, my Protestant neighbor told my mother to listen to anti-Catholic preacher Scott Hahn’s tapes.
Completely without malicious intent or irony, my mother recognized the name and answered, “Oh, Scott Hahn? He spoke at my church. He’s Catholic now.”
Good mic-drop moment, Mom!
My neighbor walked away and never brought it up again. I wish he would have read Scott Hahn’s testimony.
Like my mother told me, sometimes people try so hard to prove Catholicism wrong that they end up converting to it.
Scott and Kimberly Hahn witness their journey and their perspective to what it is like to be looking at Catholicism from an American Protestant point of view—and what a witness to a loving marriage, too! They went through so much, converting to Catholicism at different times, and loved each other through it all.
Like many people, our neighbor was convinced Catholics go to hell. It is quite easy to convince someone otherwise when Catholicsm is conveyed as a stupid, blind, backwards, idol-worshiping, fallacious “straw man.”
Yes, some preachers still use Hahn’s tapes to denounce Catholicism. Scott and his wife’s stories of conversion are amazing because they chose to continue the path of following Christ, rather than stay committed to not being Catholic. If you know someone whose faith is based on being anti-Catholic rather than following Christ, perhaps introduce them to this story.
Their story will also resonate with Protestants and those who are lost wandering because they don’t see the point of “picking” a group in the Christian religion. It can be daunting when there are tens of thousands of denominations… and most of them simply agree not to be Catholic.
They did not want to be Catholic, and you probably know people like that as well. They knew God, though, and He led them home.
This will help give a little nudge to those who are on the edge of joining RCIA and help shed light for those who are blinded by an anti-Catholic conviction.
While your companion reads this book, pray for Christian unity.
2. The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis
This is not about marriage ending. The title rebuts a William Blake poem about the “marriage” of heaven and hell. This book is about souls journeying in the afterlife—if they are willing to lighten their load.
This is written by a good, traditional Anglican man, who is more famous for writing about wardrobes and talking forest animals than this allegorical creation. This book is actually perfect for anyone curious about Catholicism.
A fantastical view of the afterlife, much like a much shorter, modern Paradisio from Dante, this story appeals to those who need a plot to hold their attention or prefer fiction to nonfiction. The best fiction brings you closer to reality. This brings supernatural reality to the heart of matters.
It is short, simple, and clarifying. If someone needs a little boost to consider the afterlife or rethink purgatory, this sparks the conversation. Is there really a bus? No. Will you probably be your own obstacle to heaven and need to let go of the things you can’t take with you—including your pride? Yep.
Jesus loves you, yes. This story reminds readers that you have to love Him back, too, or you’re the one walking away from Him.
3. Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History by Rodney Stark
Don’t you know the Catholic Church burned all those people at the stake, hates Jews, and is anti-science? The Church is unenlightened, oppressive and racist!
If it’s repeated enough, it means it is true; right? Wrong! Oh, I’m sure you can find Catholics who have unenlightened, oppressive, and racist ideas. There are some historical instances that blemish the Catholic community’s reputation. It doesn’t mean Catholicism promotes any of the latter evils.
Still, people can be hung up on these types of things.
If you or someone you know is a victim, promoter, or dumbfounded by these lies, meet Rodney Stark, who believed lies like these throughout grad school and even regrettably wrote them into other books of his until he uncovered the truth.
He writes “I am not a Roman Catholic, and I did not write this book in defense of the Church… I wrote it in defense of history.”
What a relief to find an ally!
And a great rebuttal if someone at the family reunion who loves repeating fake history decides your reference is invalid because they assume the author is Catholic.
On the gentler side, if you have a coworker or companion who has fallen for, repeats, or is hung up on these historical lies, this should remove that stumbling block.
A simple proposal to your non-Catholic acquaintance: “This is by a historian who isn’t Catholic. I really enjoyed it and think you would, too, because it is not anti-Catholic either. It’s just history.”
And, what is history if not a series of stories?
Bonus, it’s easy to read and each chapter’s first and last paragraphs sum it up nicely for review or speed-readers.
4. Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux
A sweet autobiography from one of our biggest and littlest saint!
This is beautiful because she grew up Catholic—a cradle Catholic—and stayed. She had obstacles, unrealized dreams, and disappointments, yet she is a Doctor of the Church. She is relatable because she was ordinary. She struggled with the loss of her mother. She suffered illness and anxiety, but her strength and comfort was in the Lord.
Reading her thoughts humanizes saints for those who might assume saints were effortlessly perfect and unrelatable. It helps non-Catholics understand that saints are not idols, but very real people we consider heroes, helpers, and holy families.
Something wonderful about this autobiography is that a person can’t argue with her story. One might have questions, but her feelings, her experiences, and her relationship with God are not an argument. This book is a real person’s life and thoughts.
One of the best ways to convey the deep, personal, relationship one can have with God as a Catholic is through witness—of one’s own life and saints. A non-Catholic, who might assume what it is like to be Catholic, can grow and learn from her story.
Let her words plant seeds in readers’ souls while your prayers help your companion’s faith grow.
Consider praying a novena for her intercession for your companion while they read her story, and maybe you’ll find a rose in your answer.
(Watch her movie Therese together after you’ve both read it.)
Further reading? How about the books that inspired her?
5. Something Other Than God by Jennifer Fulwiler
This is another testimony—one I admittedly have not yet read but look forward to reading very much because I’ve watched Jennifer Fulwiler’s comedy specials. She’s witty and reasonable. Anyone who you think seems to have it all together but might wonder what else there is to life will relate to this story. What’s the point of it all?
Jennifer Fulwiler had it all—hip job, great place to live, a husband, childhood memories of being raised atheist, and ardent dislike of Christianity. Someone like that could easily ignore the nagging questions of spiritual matters and purpose, but one night her worldview fell apart. Searching for answers, she found herself sneaking the Bible and religious books while everyone except her husband was unaware.
Many reviewers say that anecdotes from her story are down-right hysterical but what she writes is also honest and raw. This book has rave reviews, but why I recommend handing it to a non-Catholic is because everyone can share a laugh. If someone you know thinks people of Faith are just sticks in the mud, please introduce them to Jennifer Fulwiler.
She now hosts the Jennifer Fulwiler Show, has appeared on television shows, stars in a miniseries called Minor Revisions, and has six children with her husband. She has written multiple books and is now also a standup comic. Perhaps, you could watch a special of hers and then recommend her book to your non-Catholic companion.
Reading her book yourself will provide insight into the challenges atheists find with converting, and atheists can find a relatable writer, hopefully understanding more than just where she comes from but also journeying to conversion themselves.
6. Between the Savior and the Sea by Bob Rice
I think my husband has recommended this book every time I ask him for recommendations for anything possibly related to it.
Imagine that you are meditating on the Gospels as if you were in Peter’s place, trying to dive in deeper to the world of the Apostles and Christ’s time on earth. Now, imagine someone wrote an entire novel about it—the Gospel from Peter’s perspective.
It is written with modern language so a modern audience can understand and relate. Most reviews agree that the language and additional content does not detract from the Gospel message. It is both witty and meditative.
Works like this, of course, can never replace the Bible itself, but this offers non-Catholics a fun yet prayerful way to meet the Gospel characters. Giving this book to someone invites them into the conversation in a unique meditative way.
You could discuss what you might have imagined differently, what you would have felt or done if you were there, and what you think is good, true, and beautiful in the plot, Good News, and your own life.
These books are all quite different but so are Catholics—united in faith, unique in how we live it out.
What other books (any kind!) would you recommend passing along to non-Catholics, and why?
Photo by Eliott Reyna on Unsplash
