A giant of the religion biz

The last home of Mary Baker Eddy, at 400 Beacon St., in the Chestnut Hill section of Newton, Mass.

— Photo by Thomas Kelley

“Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal.

— Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910), inventor of Christian Science, in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.

Like many Red State TV evangelists now, hard-working New Englander Mary Baker Eddy learned how to make a killing in the religion industry, in her case becoming a multimillionaire off real estate and other investments, publication sales and high-fee instructional programs.

‘Goodness its own heaven’

“Sin makes its own hell, and goodness its own heaven.’’

— Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910) in her (1875) book Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures.

Her creation of the Church of Christ, Scientist, and its associated publishing and other ventures led to her becoming a multimillionaire. It also killed some people who failed to get proper medical attention, opting instead for prayer, which Christian Science has traditionally favored over all other treatments. For that matter, Mrs. Baker argued that illness is an illusion. (This led to many sick jokes about ailing Christian Scientists.)

Mrs. Baker’s creation attracted many affluent New Englanders as adherents. But its heyday is long past. But another denomination with New England roots, Mormonism, still thrives. Its founder, Joseph Smith, was born in Sharon, Vt.

The farm in Bow, N.H., where Mary Baker Eddy was born.

Mary Baker Eddy’s gravesite in Mt. Auburn Cemetery, in Cambridge, Mass.

The Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial, in Sharon, Vt., where the founder of the Church of the Latter Day Saints (the Mormons) was born in 1805. He was killed by angry mob in Nauvoo, Ill., in 1844. That’s where he is buried.