The Money Cult

(Paperback)

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We think we know the story of American religion: the Puritans were cold, austere, and pious, and Christianity continued pure and uncorrupted until the industrial revolution got in the way. In The Money Cult, Chris Lehmann argues that we have it backwards: capitalism has always been entangled with religion, and so today's megapastors aren't an aberration - they're as American as Benjamin Franklin. The long-awaited first book by a hugely admired journalist, The Money Cult is a sweeping and accessible history.

Reviews

A tour de force that illustrates the continuities of American cultural and economic history...Chris Lehmann has shown us why religious history is the mainstream of American history -- and how Protestant theologians became the court poets of capitalism.The New York Times Book Review

Eye-popping and prodigiously researched."Maclean's

Lehmanns excavations may be sobering, but it is absolutely necessary for us to know this backstory if we are to have any hope of understanding the contemporary religious and political landscape, including the spiritual context that lies behind Trumpisms rapid ascent.Religion Dispatches

One of the seasons most substantial nonfiction books from one the best essayists and polemicists writing in the US.Flavorwire

Brilliantly written and wide-ranging.Reason

"Lehman tells the tale with a breadth and bravado that's rare..."Raritan Review

"Entertaining and erudite."Publishers Weekly

Lehmanns intellectual history of the long association between Christian faith and the pursuit of the materially good life makes enthralling reading.Booklist

Far from being a simple polemic against an easy target, Lehmann provides an in-depth investigation into the social transformation of religious thoughtA thorough, critical, and information-dense history of American self-help religion.Library Journal

LivelyLehmann makes an important and timely point, which is that American religion has always been about money.Kirkus Reviews


American Christianity was not corrupted by capitalism, as I had charitably imagined. Almost from the start, it has peddled magical thinking as a means to success in the most mundane commercial undertakings, making it a literal money cult. This is Chris Lehmann at his most biting best.
Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed

Chris Lehmann is your tour guide in a startling journey through the Protestant past. After providing heaps of stomach-turning evidence, he reaches a shocking conclusion: that old time religion we hanker to get back to is just the church of mammon. Weve been confusing God and the market all along.Thomas Frank, author of Whats the Matter with Kansas


Praise for Rich People Things:

Social criticism at its scorching-hot best. Barbara Ehrenreich

Think H.L. Mencken crossed with Jon Stewart. The Phoenix

This book made me laugh and cry. And wish I were a plutocrat. Chris Lehmann is an amazing writer. I will read his books until I die. Gary Shteyngart

Author Bio

CHRIS LEHMANN is the co-editor ofBookforum, senior editor and columnist for The Baffler, and book review columnist for In These Times. He has written forHarper's, theAtlantic Monthly, theWashington Post, theNew York Observer, Yahoo, Slate, Salon, The Awl, Raritan,The Nation,Mother Jones,The Washingtonian,The Washington Monthly, Lingua Franca, Reason, and Democracy. He is the author of Rich People ThingsandRevolt of the Masscult.