colporteur

n.
A peddler of devotional literature.

[French, alteration (influenced by col, neck, from the idea that peddlers carry their wares on trays suspended from straps around their necks) of Old French comporteur, from comporter, to conduct, peddle. See comport.]

(KAWL-por-tuhr)

noun
A peddler of religious books.

Etymology
From French colporteur (peddler), from col (neck) + porter (to carry), from Latin portare, from the idea of a peddler carrying his wares in a bag hung around his neck. Ultimately from Indo-European root per- (to lead, pass over) that gave us other words such as support, comport, petroleum, sport, passport, Swedish fartlek (a training technique), Norwegian fjord (bay), and Sanskrit parvat (mountain).

Usage
"By then, because a Seventh-day Adventist colporteur had come into Croscombe selling religious tracts, his parents had joined that Church, and Hardy became a keen member of it." — The Rev Bertram Hardy; The Times (London, UK); Mar 27, 2003.

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a peddler of religious books