The Mormon Corporate Empire: The Eye-Opening Report on the Church and Its Political and Financial Agenda - Softcover

Heinerman, John; Shupe, Anson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0807004073 ISBN 13: 9780807004074

Publisher: Beacon Pr, 1988

Synopsis

An inside look at the Mormon Church discusses its political and financial agenda, and the ways it has sought to extend its influence into nearly every sector of American life

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

Bound to provoke controversy, this impressively researched study by two social scientists (Heinerman is also a Mormon) charges that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has developed an $8-billion financial/corporate empire whose influence on U.S. society is of concern. Once small and much-persecuted, and now widely respected, the Mormon church, the authors contend, is a "rising, authoritarian, powerful group," with some five million members worldwide, whose little-understood purpose is to supersede other religions and take "political and economic control" of the U.S. in preparation for the Second Coming. Heinerman and Shupe detail the church's diverse financial holdings (including broadcasting resources that "dwarf" those of electronic evangelists like Jerry Falwell); its "extraordinary" influence in government and military circles (the FBI and CIA recruit heavily among Mormons), where "para-patriotic" followers often feel an ultimate allegiance to the church. Chiding the media for accepting the church's carefully cultivated "benign" image, the authors argue that this crusading group, seeking to bring about a theocracy in the U.S., demands close scrutiny.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

By focusing on the financial and political strength of the Latter-day Saints, Heinerman and Shupe provide a useful complement to Robert Gottlieb's more general America's Saints ( LJ 8/84). They describe in greater detail than any previous study the true extent of Mormon wealth in the public sphere. Since much of the information is confidential, the authors have used anonymous informants extensively to provide educated analysis of Mormon holdings in stocks, property, telecommunications, and other resources. They also track out-of-the-way sources such as newsletters and court documents. Their insights are informed by recognition of Mormonism as a religion that actively paves the way for the millennium, and they have sought to provide a fair and even-handed presentation. This intriguing book will fascinate general readers. David S. Azzolina, Univ. of Pennsylvania Libs., Philadelphia
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Beacon Pr
• Publication date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0807004073
• ISBN 13: 9780807004074
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 312