Lucas Johnston

The Camel and the Eye of the Needle: Religion, Moral Exchange and Social Impacts

Although it is well known in the United States that there are several Protestant churches and organization which have been exceptionally effective at raising money to spread their message, religious justifications for accruing and sometimes hiding financial wealth are widespread. Taking as qualitative data analyses of the ways in which exchange relations and their theological justifications impacted various efforts to map, classify and conquer, this analysis focuses on the nexus of economic activity, specifically investments, colonialist expansion and contested spaces. First is a discussion of the historical relationship between capital investment and a capitalist-democratic society. We provide a representative (not exhaustive) history of the relationship between religion and investment. Second, we review some specific examples how religious individuals and organizations have highlighted the supposed authenticity of their religious identity for personal or community gain. It becomes clear that currency, property and investments are not doing only God’s work. Rather, their accrual and exchange have long provided material expressions of the authenticating discourses deployed by various religious authorities. Finally, we endeavor to examine in broad strokes the legal limitations on the investments owned by religious non-profit organizations and the use and abuse of non-profit legal status in obtaining and sustaining wealth. Included are specific cases which illustrate the religious and theological reasoning behind the acquisition and growth of financial wealth and power among tax exempt religious organizations.