Such a book is "Shopping for Faith: American Religion in the New Millennium" (Jossey-Bass, $25). The authors, Richard Cimino and Don Lattin, have been observing the religious culture in the United States for decades. Cimino is editor and publisher of Religion Watch and lives in New York. Lattin is the religion writer for the San Francisco Chronicle and lives in California. They wrote the book using e-mail, sending chapters back and forth.

First, the book includes a CD-ROM that enables readers to monitor religious trends on the Internet. This electronic version of the text, fully searchable and with keyword links, connects readers to resources on the Web. That's a big help.

Secondly, these men write clearly. They're experienced and have watched the movements of religions for decades. I think what they're saying is absolutely on track.

Here is a sampling of their findings:

--Sales of books on the Bible, religion and spirituality shot up 40 percent in 1997.

--Seven in 10 Americans believe that one can be religious without going to church.

--Some 40 percent of Americans believe that one does not have to believe in God to experience the sacred. Twenty-six percent report they experience the sacred during sex.

--A remarkable 99 percent of family physicians think religious faith helps patients respond to treatment.

--In the 1950s, one American in 25 had left his or her childhood denomination. Today, more than one in three has left or switched.

--Some 70 percent of employees think spirituality has a place at work; 56 percent pray, chant or play meditation tapes on the job to relieve stress.

--Four adults in 10 report meeting regularly in small religious groups.

--The average Catholic parish is eight times larger than the average Protestant congregation.

But the best parts of the book are the stories of people who changed their religion -- from Catholic to Buddhist, or from Lutheran to Catholic. The people found new meaning in life through regular participation in small groups.

The authors say women will have a big impact on religion as they take up leadership positions in denominations and congregations. The style of leadership already is changing from authoritarian to teams. And women are taking control very quickly.

Part of this can be explained with the greater number of women seeking degrees in religion. The book says there are 70 women seminarians at the Episcopal Church Divinity School of the Pacific and only 25 men. At the Golden Gate (Southern) Baptist Theological Seminary, nearly one-third of the student body is women, even though few Southern Baptist congregations call women to ministry.

That trend also holds true in seminaries in the Twin Cities, where at one institution the student population is 75 percent women. Even in Catholic seminaries, lay women outnumber men studying for the priesthood.

But downsides have emerged as women become more involved in the leadership of churches. One is that there may not be enough jobs for these newly trained female leaders. For instance, mainline denominations that accepted women the earliest are also the denominations that are losing membership -- and congregations -- most rapidly.

Further, churches aren't immune from some of the gender inequities that have caused women grief in the workplace. For instance, the book says women are taking part-time positions in religious organizations and that may be a sign of creating jobs that become marginalized.

Lattin also says church leadership positions may lose prestige and garner lower salaries as women move into their ranks, a disappointing result other professions -- such as teaching -- have experienced.

One of the statistics that piques Lattin's interest is the number of people moving from church to church. It would seem no one has the corner on spiritual truth, he said in an interview.

He's also surprised by the number of people who eventually return to the origins of their faith. He mentioned a phenomenon he has noticed in California -- that of a number of Jewish people who turned to Buddhism later turned back to Judaism.

"They realize there is mysticism in Judaism. There's a big lively synagogue out here (in California) and they had a speaker come in and talk about mysticism. The place was packed. The crowd even surprised the rabbi," he said.

"One woman said she drifted away from Judaism because of the patriarchy. Then she rediscovered Judaism and she's coming back, but she is just taking the mystical part," Lattin said.

Obviously, times are changing and the congregation where you worship will look a lot different in the new millennium. But that's not all bad.

And if you stick with it, you might discover a whole new dimension to your faith.

Clark D. Morphew