Business

Abstract

Abstract The history of fundamentalism is inexplicable without business. Recent ventures like Hillsong, a megachurch and multinational ‘brandscape’ based in Australia, reveals long-standing intersections between business and fundamentalism: a fundamentalist–business nexus. Seeking standardization of theological ‘truths’ and broader social influence, early fundamentalists sought the money, marketing prowess, and organizational know-how of business interests. Early innovators like evangelist D. L. Moody laid the groundwork for later business-minded and business-backed fundamentalist superstars like Billy Graham. Behind-the-scenes agents like Herbert J. Taylor and the Christian Business Men’s Committee International (CBMCI) informed fundamentalist start-ups, from seminaries to parachurch ministries to missionary groups. In the private sector, business leaders rebranded fundamentalism as merely ‘Christian’ and sponsored a wide array of small and large-scale businesses marketing ‘Christian’ consumer goods and experiences. From multilevel marketing to the Christian music industry to party politics, business sustained and proliferated fundamentalism well into the present age of global, mass consumerism.