Despite popular parlance, consumerism is not a problem of how much one consumes. No, it is a problem of why one consumes: that is, in a consumerist society like ours, we buy things to tell others, and ourselves, who we are.
This sounds shocking, but it’s a truth we all instinctively recognize. We all know what soccer moms and NASCAR dads are, what makes a yuppie different from a punk rocker, and we know it because we know what each group likes to buy. Differences in purchasing habits create the constellation of our social universe in modern America. But though our purchasing habits may vary, we share a habit of purchasing.
In a buy-to-be culture, money has to change hands. Whatever we decide to be in a consumerist society, our being it is dependent upon having the necessary funds. If who we are is up for sale, then one cannot be if one cannot shop! And one cannot shop unless one has access to wealth.
Wealth is the secret beneficiary behind every transaction, the god overseeing consumerist society who is satisfied by the offering of our financial resources toward our own self-creation. I refer here not to abstract ideas–like poverty, riches, and so on–nor to actual money, but to a real spiritual agent at work in the world. When we buy something to satisfy consumerist impulses, we pay for the item–but more significantly, we pay homage to the force of wealth that is at work.
Each consumerist purchase is a prayer offered up to wealth, whether intended or not. When we believe ourselves to be made new by that which we buy, we say, in effect: “You, O Wealth, you are the one who creates me. You shape me. You make me who I am. You establish me on the earth. You lift me up in the world, and set my place amongst the esteem of others.”
And this is serious business, because it flies in the face of one of the New Testament’s most striking teachings.
Amen Tyler.
It astounds me how co-opted American churchianity has become by consumerism & the corporate culture that depends on consumerism. Visit all the “booming”, “successful” churches in the exburbs – plenty of talk about sex, very little about how we have sold (or soul’d) out the radical call of Christ for the American dream of ownership & success.
Consumerism, as Pete Ward correctly concludes, “represents an alternative source of meaning to the Christian gospel.” No longer merely an economic system, consumerism has become the American worldview—the framework through which we interpret everything else, including God, the gospel, and church.
To appeal to religious consumers we must commodify our congregations—slapping our church’s logo on shirts, coffee mugs, and Bible covers. And we strive to convince a sustainable segment of the religious marketplace that their church is “relevant,” “comfortable,” or “exciting.”
As a result, choosing a church today isn’t merely about finding a community to learn and live out the Christian faith. It’s about “church shopping” to find the congregation that best expresses my identity. This drives Christian leaders to differentiate their church by providing more of the features and services people want.
After all, in a consumer culture the customer, not Christ, is king.
Nice statement, Bob. I agree that Consumerism has become the dominant religion of America. It’s creed is simply stated by Brian Swimme: “Work hard. Get money. Buy stuff.” Our shopping malls are the great cathedrals, and the 30,000 commercial messages that bombard us every day give the same message: “You will not be a whole person until you buy this car (dress, perfume, erectile dysfunction medication, and on and on0.” Even our president told the nation after 9/ll to go out and shop. And I thought he was a Methodist.
The sign that the Gospel of Consumerism has taken over the churches appeared on a banner over the front of a local church; it read “Vacation Bible School” and had a Pepsi logo on it.
Read and meditate on the 18th chapter of the Revelation to John, substituting “America” for “Babylon.” That is the fate that awaits us at the Judgment.
Wow! Both Stevenson and Carlton in Comment #1 hit hard – and true. Why do we drive past our neighborhood church to attend one that “expresses our identity”? Why do we purchase clothes that put us into debt? These guys answer those questions – it’s because of what we worship! Mea culpa.
Also, why is it that items with ‘Christian images or logos’ sell for twice to three times as much (if not more) as their ‘secular’ counterparts?
Actually, Pepsi and Coke provide those banners free. It’s a good way to advertise if one has limited budgets. When I worked at a public library in another town, we would regularly call on Pepsi to provide the banner for our semi-annual book sale.
Consumerism is rampant in America and is a twin heresy to “individualism.” Both are attempts to define oneself rather than accept the self as created by God. We seek joy and contentment outside of God. We rely on things to make us happy and much of society goes not significant debt to acquire these things and then spend too much time futzing with these things trying to get them to make us happy. This leads to being in bondage to debt and being slothful. The concept of “Enough” is foreign to the American psyche.
As a church, we need to educate our congregations on the dangers of consumerism and individualism. We need to remind them that to truly “know yourself” you need to go to the One Who created you!
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
The general point is well-taken, but this is an important topic deserving of more careful treatment. “One cannot shop unless one has access to wealth,” is sloppy at best, wrong at worst. Those with little, no, or negative capital can still shop – do they have access to wealth, or merely access to [i]liquidity[/i]? Plenty of people are not spending what they have accumulated, but are spending today while promising to pay tomorrow. Taken to its logical conclusion, Stevenson’s confused language leads to a situation in which debt = wealth. More broadly, sloppy language erodes distinctions between good and bad economic activity, undercutting any serious discussion of what true Christian stewardship of resources (money, time, things, etc) means.
You all are forgetting that shopping creates jobs, both in the retail industry and in the manufacturing industries. Would you rather put money in the pockets of the unemployed by handing out government largess, or charity, or giving folks jobs. Since so much of the factory work that used to be available has been shipped off to the 3rd world, retail and food industry jobs are two of the entry level jobs available to folks without a college degree. If I buy a new sweater, and put an old one in the thrift shop, I have supported the sweater industry, perhaps the sheep farmers if it is wool, the retail shop, and helped the local folks who rely on the thrift shop. What could be better?
First let me agree with both Bobs that consumerism in the US is quite out of control. But then let me say that the “mall culture” is far more complex than just consumerism.
In many places the mall has become the new town center, especially for teens. It is the cool place to hang out. If we, as Christians, are going to reach them we need a presence in the mall. Perhaps, storefront ministries such as coffee shops and game places — even combined with book/media outlets. I do not recall ever seeing that done very well.
Each consumerist purchase is a prayer offered up to wealth, whether intended or not. When we believe ourselves to be made new by that which we buy, we say, in effect: “You, O Wealth, you are the one who creates me. You shape me. You make me who I am. You establish me on the earth. You lift me up in the world, and set my place amongst the esteem of others.”
On the other hand, my most expensive recent purchase was a modestly-priced toilet at Home Depot to replace the leaking monster in my only bathroom.
First, I can’t wait for the second half, Tyler! This first part is stunning in its accuracy, as has been remarked above.
Secondly, you call us all to a higher awareness…as if looking into a mirror. That’s tough. I’ve only been able to handle that step with Christ beside me!
By confronting us, you have stirred the solution (as it were) and some of us in this mix will rise up to talk and write more openly about this cultural mammon addiction, others will pursue more subtle tacks, quietly. But, I believe it has struck a resonant chord, and will have broad impact. Thank you for your testimony.
Can we actually think we could pass through the eye of a needle, without the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ? Not.
I think the point that the author is trying to make is not bad. Tim 6:10 “the love of money is the root of all evil” sums up the idea very well. However I have some overall issues with the article in particular. It is a good start of a “sermon” but it does not explain well or come to a conclusion of what is the correct Christan response. It doesn’t try to give a good idea of what Mammon could be expressed as in modern English. Yes, so many people in this day and this country live excessively with no frugality disregarding so much. The author seems to imply that we live with nothing which is also excessive. There is a strong Biblical point, we should tithe from what we have (if we can) whether we are rich or poor and we should live a life of moderation.
Phil, I would like to hear more from you on the “individualism” aspect.
Writing as one who has chosen to lead a relatively simple life, can I consider myself more virtuous for driving a 30 year old car than my neighbor who is driving an energy efficient hybrid? Do I detect in the above posts a whiff of puritanism? Was it Helaire Belloc who said something about protestant countries suffering the effects of puritanism while Catholic countries enjoyed good red wine and the fruits of the earth? I agree with the comment above about consuming without liquidity, and the dangers of debt. I doubt many of us here have the wealth to be truly conspicuous consumers (unlike some of our politicians!!). Nevertheless when many people adopt the anti-consumption attitude I believe it is called “loss of consumer confidence” and it has a drastic effect on the economy, increasing the unemployment rate among other effects. Money has to change hands for the economy to work. In the long run jobs are better for people than either the dole or charity.
Some comments on other comments. I agree that a functioning economy is important to any society. The question is a spiritual one: does one allow the finely tweaked advertising program that has created our consumerist economy to govern us or do we make rational SPIRITUAL choices about the things we acquire and the purposes for which we acquire them. Do we define ourselves by our relationship with stuff or by our relationship with God? That may be the framework in which to interpret the “God vs Mammon” saying of Jesus.
I would agree that excessive individualism is heretical in terms of our common life as Christians. We are the Body of Christ, a corporate society within the larger society, and when we lose our sense of our common life and common responsibilities to each other, and embrace the extreme individualism of our society, we are heretical. In the society itself, extreme individualism is also harmful in that the body politic suffers when wee do not work together for the common good. In the USA our Constitution is our “Bible” in that it asks us to form a more perfect union, just as our Christian Bible exhorts us to be the Body of Christ.
libraryjim, of course Pepsi hands out those banners free; it’s part of their strategy to get those kids thinking of drinking Pepsi. We who are parents need to teach them to make judicious choices about what they drink, not to succumb thoughtlessly to advertisement. I would strongly protest if my parishes vacation bible school were to put up such a banner (but we wouldn’t).