A perfected bank: Catholic capitalism in early twentieth-century Quebec.

Alphonse Desjardins, a devout Quebecois Catholic, established North America's first cooperative bank in 1900. The first English-language attempt to grapple with Desjardins' faith, this article is an important addition to the many new studies of North American Christians and economics in Desjardins' period, nearly all of which focus on Protestants. More particularly, it contributes to this historical conversation through conceptual models drawn from anthropologies of religion related to sacrifice, credibility, and monetary circulation. Ultimately, this case study prompts us to ask anew: how do people of faith shape, and redefine, capitalist structures? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]