I agree with what one user said below, and christianity could relate to communism better than capitalism. The idiot preacher in the new testament (I'm not saying that creeps name, you know who I'm referring too) did not favor money or material goods, which would run in direct contradiction to capitalist beliefs. The idiot also preached about giving what you have to those who need it more, which sounds like socialism and it's idea of wealth redistribution to me.

Many Christians are Capitalist before they are Christians. You are not supposed to Covet Things and to give all you possessions away to the poor and follow Christ.....Now, as George Carlin would say, that's some major league Bullshit.

They have become very similar it seems....narrow parameters creates narrow minds, religions and governments can control you more easily that way....sad really, most don't get that they are being totally controlled.

They both sell the same fairy story "Work hard and do the right thing and you shall be rewarded." And it is a total crock in both cases.

Oh, please, that thought makes my head hurt.

In that they're both scams to concentrate power?
Nah.

There are some distinct similarities. 'The same'? Obviously not exactly the same. But I do feel like a lot of capitalists treat the Invisible Hand of the market like a deity, so...

No. Christianity is a total system ideology. Capitalism is an economic ideology which has varying degrees of openness ranging from laissez faire capitalism to a mixed economy.

There are common threads between Christianity (particularly fundamentalism) and free-market capitalism (mostly, Calvinism, as others have mentioned).

More broadly though there are Christians who are quite politically and economically liberal. The current Pope for example is pretty opposed to "poverty is the fault of the poor" and more into "what you do unto the least of these you do unto me" ethos. Religions based on holy books are pretty pliable that way; holy books are vague templates that you can [re]interpret as you please to support any desired dogma or emphasis.

This is a great observation, since Western-style capitalism is highly influenced by Calvinism. You may want to check out The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Max Weber. [en.wikipedia.org]

No, not at all. Capitalism at it's core is nothing more than the voluntary exchange of mutually beneficial values between two entities (a buyer and a seller). In the US, much has been made of "income inequality" which implies there is some organized system working to make this happen. The income inequality argument is nothing more than an attempt to usurp (steal) from "the rich" in the name of "wealth redistribution." Think about it. That's my opinion, anyway.