I have had many conversations with my fellow believers about diversity in Christian fiction. I try to be open and honest in my conversations, but more than that, I make sure to listen.
I feel that changes in Christian fiction regarding diversity will originate with readers. I believe that once we the readers make our voice heard the industry will hear and respond. However, as I talk to Christian fiction readers, I am constantly trying to accesses what are the prevailing thoughts about diversity in Christian fiction.
In my listening, I found that reader’s responses fell into two camps. Of course, every person didn’t fall perfectly into one or the other. But for the most part, the response fell in or near two mindsets.
The first I call color-blind readers. Great writing and intriguing characters are enough to move them to by, but they might not buy because there are diverse characters in it. That alone is enough to motivate them to support diverse authors even if it wasn’t their initial intention.
The second are every nation, every tribe readers. They seek out books that feature diverse characters. Those characters are their driving motivation. These readers are most likely to note when diversity is missing from a novel.
Both camps have legitimate reasons why they approach diversity in Christian fiction the way they do. Which are you and why? Share your comments below.
Diversity Between the Pages 
Well, I’m not a colorblind person 😀 but I fall in both camps! Great writing, intriguing characters, issues that interest me being addressed in the plot, etc. are enough to move me to pick up a book, regardless of the characters’ colors. On the other hand, there are times when I do actively seek out books with diverse characters, as I find that if I’m not proactive in my search, it seems I’m less likely to come across diverse books.
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Ditto!
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I am both, too. Which camp I fall into depends on what I’m in the mood to read. I think I am, however, a little more skewed to look for diversity because I’m a minority. Even if it’s a secondary character, there are times when I want my fiction to look a little more like my everyday world.
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I fall into both categories because I sometimes search out diverse book and often find myself more drawn to them but if there is an interesting-sounding story, i will get it regardless of who is in it. I do know that i will often get exvited when there are diverse characters in books.
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Yes! What a happy moment it is when you discover diversity in a story, especially when you don’t expect it.
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