For anyone surveying the exceedingly polarized landscape of American politics and asking how it got this way, seasoned journalist Katherine Stewart (The Power Worshippers) lays out a clear answer in her extensively researched and thoroughly documented investigation into the origins and rise of an "antidemocratic political movement" that is "best described as a new and distinctly American variant of authoritarianism or fascism." Stewart blends accounts of her attendance at rallies, meetings, and worship services with her analysis of the groups and institutions behind these gatherings, straightforwardly dispelling any notion that this movement isn't the result of a systematic, well-funded, long-term shift guided by a collective of individuals "who amass tremendous personal power by mobilizing others around their agendas."
Although they have been historically conflated in wider cultural narratives, Stewart clearly distinguishes between Christians of sincere faith and Christian nationalists, showing how the movement has weaponized some beliefs held by the former but added to them new, false narratives in order to drum up an ardent base of supporters. By sorting "a complex grouping of people into admittedly simplistic categories" and breaking down the steps followed to create an indoctrinated base of supporters, Money, Lies, and God reveals that the novelty of this movement lies in its extremism, its willful denial of reality, and the fact that it "isn't looking for a seat at the noisy table of American democracy; it wants to burn down the house." While there's no happy ending to Stewart's necessary, sobering work, she concludes by outlining observations and actions that--while tempered by realism--give readers something to hold onto when looking to the future. --Kristen Coates, editor and freelance reviewer