To Serve God and Wal-Mart: The Making of Christian Free Enterprise »

Bethany Moreton is Assistant Professor of History and Women’s Studies at the University of Georgia.

In the decades after World War II, evangelical Christianity nourished America's devotion to free markets, free trade, and free enterprise. The history of Wal-Mart uncovers a complex network that united Sun Belt entrepreneurs, evangelical employees, Christian business students, overseas missionaries, and free-market activists. Through the stories of people linked by the world's largest corporation, Bethany Moreton shows how a Christian service ethos powered capitalism at home and abroad.

The New York Times - Robert Frank

Moreton offers a gracefully written and meticulously researched account of why people not only have been willing to work for the company, but often have also developed fierce loyalty to it.

Prologue: From Populists to Wal-Mart Moms 1

1 Our Father's America 6

2 The Birth of Wal-Mart 24

3 Wal-Mart Country 36

4 The Family in the Store 49

5 Service Work and the Service Ethos 67

6 Revival in the Aisles 86

7 Servants unto Servants 100

8 Making Christian Businessmen 125

9 Evangelizing for Free Enterprise 145

10 Students in Free Enterprise 173

11 "Students Changing the World" 193

12 On a Mission: The Walton International Scholarship Program 222

13 Selling Free Trade 248

Epilogue: A Perfect Storm 264

Abbreviations in Notes 275

Notes 278

Acknowledgments 350

Index 356