Book Review :: Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy by Katherine Stewart
Review by Eleanor J. Bader
Katherine Stewart’s latest book, Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy, draws connections between the disparate groups and individuals who have spent the last 40-plus years working to turn the US into a theocratic, authoritarian regime. The players include Evangelical/Pentecostal/Catholic churches; men’s rights activists; funders; conservative think tanks, training entities, and organizations; homeschooling and voucher supporters; conspiracy theorists; people who want to erode church-state separation; anti-abortion, anti-birth control, anti-LGBTQIA “family values” activists; and MAGA-supporting elected officials and jurists at every level of government.
Stewart spent years attending conservative conferences and lectures, reading their materials, and interviewing people on the right. Her eyewitness account is riveting and will terrify anyone who believes in democratic governance. Her conclusion is stark: While the right-wing coalition is fragile, the many groups that comprise its ranks are united by purpose. But they no longer simply want “a seat at the noisy table of American democracy.” Instead, they “want to burn down the house.” Moreover, she writes that the rise of the right intentionally uses obfuscation “to advance its undemocratic agenda by actively promoting division and disinformation.” Ultimately, she concludes, it’s about power.
Lies, Money, and God is a compelling read. At the same time, Stewart stresses that resistance by progressive entities and individuals can defeat the right. She urges the left to think long-term, be strategic, and relentlessly exploit contradictions in conservative unity: “Does it want small government or does it want a government big enough to share your bedroom and your body? …Does it want free speech or does it want to ban books, limit the information doctors are allowed to share with patients, and compel religious speech in public schools?”
Good questions. Stewart argues that “heightening and exposing” these contradictions will benefit both the general public and “supporters of anti-democratic reaction.” It will require hard work, she writes, but if we want to preserve the republic, it’s the only option.
Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy by Katherine Stewart. Bloomsbury Publishing, February 2025 (preorder available).
Reviewer bio: Eleanor J. Bader is a Brooklyn, NY-based journalist who writes about books and domestic social issues for Truthout, Rain Taxi, The Progressive, Ms. Magazine, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and The Indypendent.
