Elmer Gantry is a 1927 satirical novel written by Sinclair Lewis that presents aspects of the religious activity of the United States in fundamentalist and evangelistic circles and the attitudes of the 1920s public toward it.

[not verified in body] Reverend Dr. Elmer Gantry, the protagonist, is attracted by drinking, chasing women, and making easy money (although eventually renouncing tobacco and alcohol).

[not verified in body] Biographer Mark Schorer states that while researching the book, Lewis attended two or three church services every Sunday while in Kansas City,[citation needed] and that, "He took advantage of every possible tangential experience in the religious community.

[citation needed] Other Kansas City ministers Lewis interviewed included Burris Jenkins, Earl Blackman, I. M. Hargett, Bert Fiske, and Robert Nelson Horatio Spencer, who was rector of Grace and Holy Trinity Church (now the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri).

He successfully hides sexual involvements that are prohibited,[clarification needed] but is thrown out of the seminary before completing his bachelor of divinity because he is too drunk to appear at a church where he is supposed to preach.

With his career and power at their peak, Gantry manipulates local, state and national political figures, resulting in police raids against bootleggers and bar patrons.

Gantry's corruption and power hunger[clarification needed] contribute to the downfall, physical injury, and even death of key people around him, including a former associate, Frank Shallard, a sincere minister who questions the moral purpose of his church.

Gantry is helped in avoiding potential downfall by a close friend, and via political alliances with Deacon Eversley, a powerful lawyer; and a private detective agency.

"[This quote needs a citation] Schorer concludes, in view of Lewis' research, that the novel satirically represents the religious activity of America in evangelistic circles and the attitudes of the 1920s toward it.