Project Gutenberg 2005-08-07 Public domain in the USA. 116 Sinclair, Upton 1878 1968 Fitch, Clarke Garrison, Frederick Sinclair, Upton Beall The Profits of Religion, Fifth Edition Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Profits_of_Religion Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Jayam Subramanian and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net "The Profits of Religion" by Upton Sinclair is a socio-economic critique written in the early 20th century. The work explores the intersection of organized religion and economic exploitation, suggesting that religious institutions serve as a means of financial gain for the privileged while perpetuating social injustices. Sinclair’s argument is grounded in an economic interpretation of culture, highlighting the hypocrisy and material motives behind various religious practices and institutions. The opening of the text sets the tone for this examination by vividly illustrating a metaphorical scene of people engaged in “bootstrap-lifting,” a futile spiritual exercise that keeps them distracted from their actual plight. Sinclair depicts a society entranced by spiritual leaders—the “Wholesale Pickpockets' Association”—who profit from the followers’ devotion while actively encouraging their neglect of material needs. Through this clever allegory, he critiques how religion often distracts individuals from the realities of their economic circumstances and the exploitation inherent within institutionalized faith, suggesting that these religious constructs are entrenched systems that prioritize profit over genuine spiritual growth. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 61.3 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Christianity -- Controversial literature BL Text Category: Philosophy & Ethics Category: Religion/Spirituality Category: Sociology 620414 2025-07-07T07:09:53.436588 text/html 608219 2020-12-12T08:43:37 text/html 306958 2025-07-07T07:10:03.738487 application/epub+zip 318899 2025-07-07T07:09:56.918517 application/epub+zip 306954 2025-07-07T07:09:55.465555 application/epub+zip 578900 2025-07-07T07:10:08.477482 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 555987 2025-07-07T07:10:02.809566 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 520369 2022-09-08T05:39:17.080230 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 537284 2025-07-07T07:09:52.328608 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 537168 2020-12-12T08:43:37 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 537160 2020-12-12T08:43:37 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 21633 2025-07-07T07:10:08.617473 application/rdf+xml 15697 2025-07-07T07:09:56.076522 image/jpeg 3695 2025-07-07T07:09:55.729526 image/jpeg 213402 2020-12-12T08:43:37 application/octet-stream application/zip 230866 2020-12-12T08:43:37 application/octet-stream application/zip 213372 2020-12-12T08:43:37 application/octet-stream application/zip 299874 2025-07-07T07:09:53.487597 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