The Money Cult ─ Capitalism, Christianity, and the Unmaking of the American Dream

A grand, brilliantly written work of American history

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 that traces American Christianity from John Winthrop to the rise of the Mormon Church to the triumph of Joel Osteen.

CHRIS LEHMANN is the co-editor of Bookforum, senior editor and columnist forThe Baffler, and book review columnist for In These Times. He has written for Harper’s, the Atlantic Monthly, the Washington Post, the New 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 Things and Revolt of the Masscult.