Cover of The Profits of Religion: An Essay in Economic Interpretation by Upton Sinclair Ebook The Profits of Religion: An Essay in Economic Interpretation
Ebook · Sovereign

The Profits of Religion: An Essay in Economic Interpretation

Author
Upton Sinclair
Language
English
Length
236 pages
ISBN
9781802568127
Published
17 August 2025
Imprint
Sovereign
  • organized religion
  • religious institutions
  • economic critique
  • social justice
  • class oppression
  • capitalism and faith
  • moral corruption
  • religious hypocrisy
  • wealth and power
  • institutional religion

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Description

Published in 1918, Upton Sinclair’s The Profits of Religion is a sharp critique of organized faith. Sinclair argues that capitalism uses religious institutions as a tool to control the working class. He claims that religious leaders distract people from earthly suffering with promises of an afterlife. This provocative essay examines how economic power shapes spiritual organizations, challenging traditional views on faith and society.

Author

Upton Sinclair (1878–1968) wrote The Jungle and a long shelf of muckraking novels in which industry is the villain. The Chicago stockyards novel was meant to convert readers to socialism; it converted them to food reform instead — and still stands as American protest fiction at documentary heat. Sinclair kept going: oil, coal, journalism, politics, a career of books used as weapons.

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