Worshiping wealth: Chris Hedges and the decline of religious institutions

The writings of American journalist, writer and public intellectual Chris Hedges have featured many times on this blog.

In his weekly column in Truth Dig and in his many books, Hedges describes the rise of a commodity culture and market society, in which celebrity, money, power and corporate capitalism reign. Hedges writes of a society that worships wealth above all else. His arguments are shaped by the American experience, but they apply no less to this country.

In his latest column piece Hedges describes the irreversible decline of Western religious institutions- The Catholic Church, The Jewish synagogues, and the various Protestant denominations. Hedges writes:

"They have failed to unequivocally denounce unfettered capitalism, globalization and pre-emptive war. The obsession with personal piety and "How- is- it- with- me- spirituality" that permeates most congregations is narcissism. And while the Protestant Church and reformed Judaism have not replicated the perfidiousness of the Catholic Bishops, who protect child-molesting priests, they have little to say in an age when we desperately need moral guidance...