The Profits of Religion
Nov 2005 · Cosimo, Inc.
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About this ebook
It is not too much to say that today no daily newspaper in any large American city dares to attack the emoluments of the Catholic Church, or to advocate restrictions upon the ecclesiastical machine.-from "Holy History"Few readers have not heard of Upton Sinclair's 1906 book The Jungle, his fictionalized account of Chicago's meatpacking industry, which set in motion dramatic social and governmental changes and highlighted the power of investigative journalism. But his 1918 book The Profits of Religion, a viciously witty censure of religious institutions in America, remains unjustly obscure. Drolly but bitterly subtitled "an essay in economic interpretation," this potent book condemns religious leaders for taking advantage of the credulity and hopefulness of ordinary Americans to line their own pockets and amass political influence. Not merely a brilliant work of persuasive journalism, this is also a document of the idealistic socialism that lingered after World War I, when the triumph of the movement's ideal still seemed possible.American writer UPTON SINCLAIR (1878-1968) was an active socialist and contributor to many socialist publications. His muckracking books include The Moneychangers (1908), King Coal (1917), Oil! (1927), and Boston (1928).
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4.0
2 reviews
michael brandon
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July 7, 2017
The information in this book is of the "You want the truth? You can't handle the truth" genre. I would suggest reading at page 296 "The church redeemed" for an inductive intro to the body of this knowledge. It is an eye opener, but then so are all of his books. Keep in mind this was written in the early 20th century. I wonder what kind of expose he would have written about the early 21st century? A novice read would do well to pass by the portion that cannot be understood without a great deal of historical background, that is unless you want to check his presentation of facts. WARNING: this was not a popular book because it reveals truths that would be considered heresy. However, with the headlines of today and since he has written this book, can we continue to remain ignorant and happy?
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About the author
Upton Sinclair, a lifelong vigorous socialist, first became well known with a powerful muckraking novel, The Jungle, in 1906. Refused by five publishers and finally published by Sinclair himself, it became an immediate bestseller, and inspired a government investigation of the Chicago stockyards, which led to much reform. In 1967 he was invited by President Lyndon Johnson to "witness the signing of the Wholesome Meat Act, which will gradually plug loopholes left by the first Federal meat inspection law" (N.Y. Times), a law Sinclair had helped to bring about. Newspapers, colleges, schools, churches, and industries have all been the subject of a Sinclair attack, analyzing and exposing their evils. Sinclair was not really a novelist, but a fearless and indefatigable journalist-crusader. All his early books are propaganda for his social reforms. When regular publishers boycotted his work, he published himself, usually at a financial loss. His 80 or so books have been translated into 47 languages, and his sales abroad, especially in the former Soviet Union, have been enormous.
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