Abstract
Thomas Rzeznik’s Church and Estate provides readers with an overview of the dynamic relationship between the economic elite and their religious communities in the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. Across seven chapters of crisp narrative, the author describes the rise and fall of upper-class infl uence on thereligious sphere, including attention to such topics as philanthropy, church governance, and ecclesiastical architecture. The author pays attention to patterns of religious affi liation and disaffi liation, noting the elite’s trend toward the Episcopal Church during the period under consideration. Later chapters detail the impact that economic and social change wrought on moneyed interest in churches and society. Rzeznik’s recounting and analysis of Progressive Era challenges to the wealthy and politically powerful is especially engaging. In the conclusion, the author thoughtfully considers the contemporary implications of and the lessons to be learned from the activities of this period.