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.