Welfare-cut theology conveniently serves wealthy evangelical donors’ labor-cost interests

Evidence

It’s not a stretch to imagine that they bring an economic agenda to involvement with the ministry, consciously or not. Taylor Farms has come under scrutiny for its labor practices. According to a report by the California-based investigative journalism outfit Capital & Main, first published in 2014 and updated in 2017, “Taylor represents the platinum standard for corporate industries that seek to maximize profits by treating their workforce as someone else’s problem—whether they be the temp labor contractors or the taxpayers who must pick up the tab when it comes to providing workers’ medical care, food stamps and other social services.” Possibly Mr. Taylor finds something spiritually uplifting in the theology of low taxation and minimal regulation. But he can be quite confident that it is economically uplifting for him and his family firm. — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 205

Categorization

• SEED: Strong material for the article angle on how anti-welfare religious doctrine maps onto donors’ payroll savings — a concrete named case (Taylor Farms) beats abstraction.
• XREF: Recalls the Frankfurt Institute finding that ideology serves the economic interests of its class proponents, and Ambedkar’s point that renunciation appeals leave class privilege intact. — connects to: Theological conviction bundles economic privilege with political favor — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 219; Cultural alignment shapes economic interpretation, not the reverse, for white evangelicals — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 603

Broader Connections

• Theological conviction bundles economic privilege with political favor #expands (0.85) — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 219
• Cultural alignment shapes economic interpretation, not the reverse, for white evangelicals #corroborates (0.80) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 603