Description
Book SynopsisHow does consumerism function as a quasi-religion in America and how does the Christian faith interact with the consumerist pseudo-faith? Answering these questions is the focus of Sacred Consumption: The Religions of Christianity and Consumerism in America. The author draws on both quantitative and qualitative data to explore how habitually consuming non-essentials is sacred in American culture, and how the Christian sacred interacts with such consumption. The history of American consumerism is unpacked, along with the creeds of consumerism. Christian creeds related to both consuming and financial giving are discussed, illuminating the ways that Christianity can fuel, resist, and passively ignore consumerism. The author's emphasis throughout is to enumerate the underlying cultural ideology derived from both Christianity and consumerism that partially makes and shapes American consumers.
Trade ReviewFor scholars of religion interested in how the sacred plays out in everyday life and for religious leaders concerned about the threat of consumerism to their faith communities’ financial well-being, here is a book filled with arresting information drawn from a national survey and in-depth interviews. Sacred Consumption offers information that confirms - and disconfirms - popular assumptions about consumerism.
-- Robert Wuthnow, Princeton University
Table of ContentsList of Tables
Acknowledgments
Introduction: “Something Else” is Sacred
Chapter One: A Brief History of American Consumerism: Late 1800s-2021
Chapter Two: The Disciples, Doctrines, and Detractors of American Consumerism
Chapter Three: Christian Economic Creeds and the Spirit of American Consumerism & Anti-Consumerism
Chapter Four: Sacrificial Financial Giving as a Means of Partially Resisting Consumerism
Conclusion: Shopping for Creeds: Why Ideological Shopping Carts Matter
Appendix
Bibliography
About the Author
