Christians / Christianity

[DanaC]

It all depends on which strand of Christianity someone follows. The 'prosperity gospel' is a travesty - it stands in stark contrast to the teachings of Christ.

It was a big part of the evangelical movement in Britain in the late 18th and early 19th centuries - Hannah More wrote stories aimed at the literate poor (The Cheap Repository Tracts) many of which extolled the virtues of a. self reliance and b. acceptance of their station in life.

She also wrote a lot about women and femininity - generally extolling the virtues of women remaining in the domestic sphere and not engaging in activities that should best be left to men (such as writing political tracts:p) - whilst at the same time castigating men for not being manly enough and thereby forcing women to to take on a mantle they shouldn't have.

Economic conservatism has often gone hand in hand with the prosperity gospel.

And for all their good works, and they did engage in a lot of charitable activities, many of them also argued against things that might offer the poor a chance to lift themselves out of their distress - such as those who argued against free education for children because if they learned to read they would learn to hanker after more instead of accepting their place.