 Tony Campolo seen as ‘naïve,’ ‘ungrateful’ in his claims about the Religious Right’s control
Publishing and retailing leaders have dismissed a claim by veteran author Tony Campolo’s that the industry is controlled by a “tyranny” of the Religious Right. The well-known speaker who has written almost 40 books for a range of leading Christian publishers made his assertion in a post-election commentary for the online newspaper, The Huffington Post.
Writing that the Religious Right would continue to dominate politics because of the way it was able to use the media to stir opposition to those with whom it did not agree—in some cases causing speaking engagements to be canceled—Campolo said that “this same kind of tyranny has taken over the Christian publishing business.” A handful of complaints raised about some authors that Religious Right evangelicals considered “dangerous” would “have the books written by such authors sent back to the distribution houses of the publishers,” he added. “It doesn’t take these publishers long to recognize whose books they should put in print if they want Christian bookstores to put their books on the shelves.” Campolo’s charge was contested by a wide range of publishers and retail representatives. At Thomas Nelson—where Campolo’s titles include Speaking My Mind—Senior Vice President and Group Publisher David Moberg said: “We love Tony. ... However, his comments strike us as being, in all charity, naïve. “ The Christian retail market was not the only outlet for books, he said. “The reality is that the majority of our sales, and that of many of our competitors, occur outside this market. We publish to ‘felt need,’ not to a doctrinal stance that one might label as being left or right. Our publishing decisions are based on a desire to serve a very broad and diverse Christian market with books that inspire and inform. “As to the so-called ‘tyranny [that] has taken over the Christian publishing business,’ we just don’t see it,” Moberg added. Mark Kuyper, president of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, echoed the significance of multiple channels for Christian book sales. Most Christian stores carry books representing a diversity of thought,” he told Christian Retailing. “However, with limited dollars and space, it is important for these retailers to choose their inventory wisely and they often depend on recommendations from trusted advisers, pastors and theologians,” he said. “While any one of us may not agree with all of those choices, it is well within the retailers’ purview and responsibility to do so.” CBA Chairman George Thomsen said that publishers’ books were influenced by the personal convictions of the owners and their mission statements, “whether they are on the conservative, moderate and liberal side of things. “Just as Dr. Campolo’s ideology and theology influences what he writes and subsequently publishes, so does the publisher’s ideology or theology to some degree impact what they print,” Thomsen added. “This is their right and they are not beholden to anyone else to print anything and everything.” Ultimately, the market decided what was sold, he said. “Most publishers have to be accountable for the bottom line to ownership whether it is an individual, an organization or stockholders. They don’t stay in business by producing product the public will not buy, no matter what the reason may be. “There is no conspiracy. If his books are not selling, then it might be that people simply are not interested in what he has to say.” Noting that some of Campolo’s books have been published by conservative houses and sold “through the very retail channel that he now bad-mouths,” Thomsen said that his comments did not seem to reflect any gratitude for what people had done for him in the past. Speaking with Christian Retailing, Campolo—whose most recent releases include 2009’s Choose Love Not Power and 2010’s Stories That Feed Your Soul (both Regal) and 2010’s Connecting Like Jesus (Jossey-Bass)—said that “tyranny’ is a bad word. I should have been more careful.” But he maintained that authors who did not fit with the Religious Right did find it hard to get shelf space in many Christian stores, citing several occasions of his own and reports from others in the last year of visiting stores and being told his books were not carried because people did not like them. Campolo said that he recognized the pressure on bookstores, trying hard to stay in business, not to ignore objections from customers. However, he wondered why a book like Jim Wallis’ 2005 God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It (HarperOne), which made the New York Times best-seller list, was not carried in many Christian bookstores.
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