Chapter 7, God and Mammon Summary and Analysis

Chapter 7 is something of an interlude in the tale of political power and focuses on the religious developments that grease the wheels of the market revolution. Sellers's main theme is to emphasize that the religious upswelling of the early 19th century in the United States is the result of psychological retreat from the economic and political turmoil that is then a core part of American life. This traditionally Marxist conception of religion as a salvo for real-world stresses pervades the chapter.

Sellers sets up a contrast between two movements in late 18th and early 19th century Christianity. The first movement is the Unitarian movement, which rejects the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and moves away from the strict moral requirements of traditional Christian doctrine. It makes possible the embracing of the modern, scientific, classical liberal...