Project Gutenberg 1998-12-01 Public domain in the USA. 609 Sinclair, Upton 1878 1968 Fitch, Clarke Garrison, Frederick Sinclair, Upton Beall The Profits of Religion: An Essay in Economic Interpretation Produced by Charles Keller and David Widger "The Profits of Religion: An Essay in Economic Interpretation" by Upton Sinclair is a critical analysis written in the early 20th century. This work examines religion from an economic perspective, arguing that it serves as both a source of income for clergy and a tool for maintaining social privilege and oppression. Sinclair uses evocative and satirical language to critique how institutionalized religion exploits its followers, connecting spiritual beliefs to financial gain and societal control. The opening of the book introduces the concept of "Bootstrap-lifting," a metaphor for how individuals labor under the illusion of spiritual elevation while being victimized by those who profit from their beliefs. Sinclair vividly describes a scene where people strain to lift themselves by their bootstraps, while a pickpocket reaps the rewards of their distraction. This introduces a series of critiques regarding various religious practices, asserting that many so-called spiritual exercises distract from the material realities of life and facilitate exploitation. Through these observations, Sinclair sets the stage for a broader examination of religious institutions as impediments to social progress, establishing a provocative foundation for his economic critique of culture. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 61.4 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Christianity -- Controversial literature BL Text Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches Category: Religion/Spirituality Category: Economics 604771 2025-08-01T10:10:39.277014 text/html 601713 2013-03-04T13:02:56 text/html; charset=us-ascii 216647 2013-03-04T13:03:46 text/html; charset=us-ascii application/zip 318106 2025-08-01T10:10:49.464037 application/epub+zip 328537 2025-08-01T10:10:43.266064 application/epub+zip 297963 2025-08-01T10:10:41.798038 application/epub+zip 688888 2025-08-01T10:10:54.742955 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 631102 2025-08-01T10:10:48.474967 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 465094 2022-09-01T11:22:53.530192 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 524709 2025-08-01T10:10:38.402030 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 515835 2015-04-02T14:06:42 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 206938 2015-04-02T14:07:12 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 18751 2025-08-01T10:10:54.896940 application/rdf+xml 24722 2025-08-01T10:10:42.314038 image/jpeg 4739 2025-08-01T10:10:42.057998 image/jpeg 308404 2025-08-01T10:10:39.321060 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia