The Hobby Lobby billionaires and the dangers of faith backed by vast wealth

(RNS) — Stories about the undue influence of billionaires on American life and politics have become dishearteningly common. Much of that commentary has focused on Silicon Valley tech billionaires. But a new book sheds light on the outsize influence of billionaires operating in other sectors: arts, crafts and conservative Christianity.

In “ The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby: Inside a Billionaire Family’s Quest to Craft a Christian Nation ,” journalist Michael Blanding tells the story of the Greens, the billionaire family that owns and operates the behemoth Hobby Lobby chain of craft supply stores.

Central to the story is how the Greens’ particular brand of conservative evangelical Christianity, and the Republican politics that accompanies it, informs how they’ve used their fortune to try to remake the world in accordance with their conception of God and moral goodness. Their story is noteworthy in large part because of how successful they’ve been in converting their colossal wealth into political, social and religious influence.

In his book published by PublicAffairs last month, Blanding charts various ways the Greens have used their money to prop up conservative religious…