What Do Oil And Christianity Have In Common?

It may seem like a stretch to look for a connection between the oil industry and Christianity. But a new book by Darren Dochuck says these two larger-than-life entities both played important roles in building the country.

The book, titled “Anointed with Oil: How Christianity and Crude Made Modern America,” draws connections between the independent oilmen and wildcat Christianity. Dochuck says a lot of migration inside the United States has historically been tied directly to where and how oil money could be found, and a desire to practice religion in a certain way.

“At first it was a follow the money type story…” Dochuck says of his research. “As the project developed I found other ways that were quite imaginative, to bring it [the story= together.”

Dochuck is an associate professor of history at the University of Notre Dame. He has studied the role that oil played in Protestant Christianity, and how these interests led to the United States’ goal of “civilizing and Christianizing” the world.

Read more: http://www.texasstandard.org/stories/what-do-oil-and-christianity-have-in-common/