JOHN CHANDLER’s Faith-Based Policy: A litmus test for understanding contemporary America looks at Presidents of the United States in the 21st century who have initiated or expanded faith-based programmes. He goes behind the activity to the theories, to shed light on the part played by religion in US public life (Lexington Books, £49.95 (£44.95); 978-0-7391-7902-4).

The essays in Christian Faith and the Earth: Current paths and emerging horizons in ecotheology have been put together by Ernst Conradie, Sigurd Bergmann, Celia Deane-Drummond, and Denis Edwards, to offer a Christian perspective on environmental destruction, and an ecological one on Christianity. Each essay focuses on a specific area, such as the Trinity, Christology, liturgy, or salvation (Bloomsbury, £24.99 (£22.49); 978-0-567-66527-0).

Branches of Christianity and Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and other traditions are represented in Religion, War and Ethics: A sourcebook of textual traditions. A central focus is just-war theory. The editors, Gregory Reichberg and Henrik Syse, seek to make texts read by specialists more widely accessible (CUP, £29.99 (£26.99); 978-0-521-73827-9).

Discovering Kenarchy explains a form of politics based on love. Edited by Roger Haydon Mitchell and Julie Tomlin Arram, the book addresses topics such as criminal justice, healthcare, the position of women, and eschatology (Wipf & Stock, £10; 978-1-4982-0060-8).

Building Bridges: Is there hope for North Korea? by David Alton and Rob Chidley outlines that country’s history and argues that it calls for a constructive approach (Lion, £9.99 (£9); 978-0-7459-5598-8).