Spirit and Capital in an Age of Inequality

by Robert P. Jones (Editor)

Spirit and Capital in an Age of Inequality brings together a diverse group of scholars, activists and public intellectuals to consider one of the most pressing issues of our time: increasing inequalities of income and wealth that grate against justice and erode the bonds that hold society together. The contributors think through different religious traditions to understand and address inequality. They make practical proposals in relation to concrete situations like mass incarceration and sweatshops. They also explore the inner experience of life in a society marked by inequality, tracing the contours of stress, hopelessness and a restless lack of contentment. This book honors the work of Jon P. Gunnemann, who has been a leading scholar at the intersections of religion and economics.

Spirit and Capital in an Age of Inequality will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students and scholars of religion and economics. It will be useful to policy-makers and activists seeking a more thorough understanding of the role of religion and theology in public life.

288 pages, Hardcover

Published December 22, 2017

About the author

Robert P. Jones is the president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). He is the New York Times bestselling author of The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future (2023), as well as White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity (2020), which won a 2021 American Book Award. He is also the author of The End of White Christian America (2016), which won the 2019 Grawemeyer Award in Religion.

Jones writes regularly on politics, culture, and religion for The Atlantic, TIME, Religion News Service, and other outlets. He is frequently featured in major national media, such as CNN, MSNBC, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others. Jones writes a weekly newsletter for those dedicated to the work of truth-telling, repair, and healing from the legacy of white supremacy in American Christianity at www.whitetoolong.net.

He holds a Ph.D. in religion from Emory University, an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a B.S. in computing science and mathematics from Mississippi College. Jones was selected by Emory University’s Graduate Division of Religion as Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 2013, and by Mississippi College’s Mathematics Department as Alumnus of the Year in 2016. Jones serves on the national program committee for the American Academy of Religion and is a past member of the editorial boards for the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, and Politics and Religion, a journal of the American Political Science Association.

Jones served as CEO of PRRI from the organization’s inception in 2009 to 2022. Before founding PRRI, he worked as a consultant and senior research fellow at several think tanks in Washington, D.C., and was an assistant professor of religious studies at Missouri State University.