Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby

by Candida R. Moss, Joel S. Baden

Overview

How the billionaire owners of Hobby Lobby are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to make America a “Bible nation”

The Greens of Oklahoma City—the billionaire owners of the Hobby Lobby chain of craft stores—are spending hundreds of millions of dollars in an ambitious effort to increase the Bible’s influence on American society. In Bible Nation, Candida Moss and Joel Baden provide the first in-depth investigative account of the Greens’ sweeping Bible projects. Moss and Baden tell the story of the Greens’ efforts to place a Bible curriculum in public schools; their rapid acquisition of an unparalleled collection of biblical antiquities; their creation of a closely controlled group of scholars to study and promote the collection; and their construction of a $500 million Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. Revealing how all these initiatives promote a very particular set of beliefs about the Bible, the book raises serious questions about the trade in biblical antiquities, the integrity of academic research, and the place of private belief in public life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691198996
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	07/16/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	252
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Candida R. Moss is the Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology at the University of Birmingham. Joel S. Baden is professor of Hebrew Bible at Yale Divinity School.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Introduction 1

1 The Collection 22

2 The Green Scholars Initiative 62

3 Education 99

4 The Museum of the Bible 137

Conclusion 176

Notes 195

Bibliography 215

Index 221

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Absolutely riveting. Without exaggeration, this is one of the most interesting books I have read in years. Moss and Baden have embedded a searing indictment within a compelling detective story that ranges from academic intrigue to divinely inspired business acumen, with a driving narrative and a cast of characters worthy of Hollywood, except that this is real life. Bible Nation should be required reading for anyone even thinking of visiting the Museum of the Bible."—Eric H. Cline, author of Three Stones Make a Wall: The Story of Archaeology

"Moss and Baden's account of how a family of billionaires has almost single—handedly transformed the American religious landscape—to the benefit of some and the detriment of many—will shake you to your core. This is a must read in our increasingly polarized country."—Reza Aslan, author of the New York Times bestseller Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

"Bible Nation offers a vivid tour through the catacombs of the culture wars: the unexpected political and theological battles in education policy, museum administration, and even the secretive world of international traders who buy and sell ancient manuscripts. Part cultural study, part family biography, part detective story, this book demonstrates that the Green family has accrued immense influence over the politics of religious liberty and the bounds of academic freedom in the study of the Bible."—Molly Worthen, author of Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism

"An intimate look at conservative Christianity and its biblical worldview. Riveting and disturbing."—T. M. Luhrmann, author of When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God

"Bible Nation is a deft and insightful portrait of pious evangelicals who are utterly convinced of their beliefs—and unable to see them in any kind of critical light. At the very least, the naiveté is deeply detrimental to biblical scholarship and to a thoughtful public comprehension of the Bible. Bible Nation is an important addition to the understanding of contemporary evangelicalism."—Margaret Bendroth, author of The Last Puritans: Mainline Protestants and the Power of the Past

"Engaging and timely, Bible Nation is a compelling account of the efforts of the family that owns Hobby Lobby to tell a particular story about the Bible and its role in history. The authors have done a terrific investigative job to show how problematic the foundations of the whole enterprise are, making the case that it is dangerous in its ethical evasions, its privileging of the ‘story' over the evidence, and its undermining of professional scholarly norms."—Elizabeth A. Castelli, Barnard College

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/14/2017
Biblical scholars Moss (The Myth of Persecution) and Baden (The Historical David) become dogged investigative journalists as they seek to understand how the Green family, the billionaire owners of Hobby Lobby, have aspired to influence national politics. In four densely packed chapters, the authors examine the development of the Green family’s collection of Bible-related antiquities, their mediation of scholarly access to the collection, and the use of the collection to promote Bible education in public schools. Their efforts will coalesce in the founding of the Museum of the Bible, projected to open in November. This thoroughly sourced and rigorously argued work raises troubling questions about the participation of the Green family (and their employees) in the global antiquities market; their attempts to import business practices, such as nondisclosure agreements, into educational research settings (thus hampering peer review); and their resistance to accepting that their own Christian nationalist vision is rooted in a Protestant understanding of the Bible. While depicting the Greens as well-intentioned, Moss and Baden make an impassioned case for fighting against the family’s efforts to limit access to their questionably sourced collection and to misrepresent their work as nonsectarian when it is entrenched in a deeply American evangelical worldview. The antiquities (many of which were recently forfeited after federal prosecutors discovered they were smuggled out of Iraq) include Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets, Torah scrolls, papyri, a fragment of a copy of Paul’s letter to the Romans from the third century, and rare fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, among others. This is a timely read for those interested in the relationship between money, faith, and American politics. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Selected as a Publishers Weekly 2017 Best Book in Religion

From the Publisher

"[Moss and Baden's] concerns have merit, and by choosing to explore this particular front of the culture wars, they effectively cast light on issues that are American to the core: the belief that God blesses the faithful with financial success, the assumption that success in business verifies people as experts in realms they know little about, the notion that America is essentially and indisputably a Christian nation (and the public square ought therefore to reflect that essence), the dismissal of expert opinion when that opinion runs counter to popular belief, and the refusal of many people to examine their faith with a critical eye. In sum, Bible Nation illustrates what many nonevangelicals find so disturbing about America in the age of Trump, though it also reminds its readers that these untoward elements of American life long predated the election of our billionaire president. Surely they will outlive him as well."

Christian Century

★ 09/01/2017
After revealing arts and crafts giant Hobby Lobby's procurement of biblical antiquities in a 2016 article in The Atlantic, Moss (New Testament & early Christianity, Univ. of Notre Dame; The Myth of Persecution) and Baden (Hebrew Bible, Yale Divinity Sch.; The Historical David) conduct a full investigation of how company founder David Green "…aspires to personal cosmic impact" by steering the populace toward conservative Christianity. In 2009, the Green family began collecting biblical antiquarian manuscripts, now possessing the largest private collection in the world. The company promotes "Bible-focused initiatives," such as Bible curriculum advocacy and the Museum of the Bible, a charitable organization owned by Hobby Lobby to advocate a private belief system while claiming it is a "nonsectarian independent organization." This weighty tome is the first look into the heated academic debate over Hobby Lobby's activities aside from their pending judicial cases. Moss and Baden's meticulous research will stand up to the most rigorous scrutiny, as they manage to stay dispassionate without judgement. This book raises serious ethical questions, and the dense prose will be of most interest to researchers. VERDICT A scholarly work of investigative journalism that offers a troubling look into how a personal belief system can infiltrate seemingly public institutions through corporate means.—Jessica Bushore, Xenia, OH

Library Journal

2017-07-03
Two biblical scholars combine to dig into the actions and words of the billionaire Green family, founders of the Hobby Lobby chain of craft stores.Moss (New Testament/Univ. of Notre Dame) and Baden (Hebrew Bible/Yale Divinity School), co-authors of Reconceiving Infertility: Biblical Perspectives on Procreation and Childlessness (2015), focus on the lawsuit filed by the Greens that reached the Supreme Court in 2014. The Greens, who have long been major funders of evangelical Christian initiatives, believed they possessed the right as business owners to ignore federal law requiring employers to cover the costs of contraceptives for employees. In a 5-4 decision, the justices sided with the Greens. The authors explain how the family arrived at their view of the prosperity gospel: due to their literal interpretations of the Bible and their generosity to evangelical Christian causes, God rewarded them with widespread business success. Patriarch David Green claimed that the legal battle occurred because the family could not abide abandoning religious beliefs to obey a provision of the federal government's Affordable Care Act, signed by President Barack Obama. The authors began their deep dive into the Green empire after becoming aware of the vast sums the family was spending to inject religion into school curricula, to collect rare biblical manuscripts, and to open a massive Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., which is currently under construction. Moss and Baden portray the Green family members and their key executives as sincere evangelicals and benevolent employers. Throughout the book, however, they also show the Greens as naïve or disingenuous. To be sure, the family's proselytizing is not neutral. Rather, they are promoting a historically inaccurate saga of the U.S. as an exclusionary Christian nation meant to marry church and state. An impressive monograph by two scholars well-positioned to examine the impact of religion on secular life.

Kirkus Reviews