Religious Books Led the Way in 2006 Sales
The strongest growth segment in publishing last year continued to be religious books, where 263.4 million were sold. Sales of Bibles, testaments, hymnals and prayer books, however, slid 6.2 percent, to 66.2 million.

Overall, publishers sold 3.1 billion books in 2006, up just 0.5 percent from the 3.09 billion sold the year before, according to Book Industry Trends 2007, an annual report that looks at sales in the United States.

Donations on the Rise
Donations to 65 Christian denominations rose slightly in 2005, but not enough to outpace inflation, while giving to church relief efforts was flat, states a National Council of Churches USA report. Total giving was more than $34 billion, up 2.7% over '04. Individual congregants gave an average of $713 to their churches.

TV Taking Its Toll
A University of Washington study found that by the age of 3 months, 40% of infants are regularly viewing TV and DVDs, rising to 90% for 2-year-olds. Far from using TV as a substitute babysitter, 29% of parents believe it made their children smarter, sometimes buying products like Baby Einstein or Brainy Baby that claim to aid an infant's cognitive development.

Between 2 and 5, the average American kid watches nearly 4 hours of TV each day. A 2004 study from the same UW research institute found that on average, the likelihood of hyperactive disorders later in life grows by 10% increments with each hour of daily TV viewing before age 3.