Sacred Consumption

Peter Mundey

doi:10.5771/9781498591621

Summary

How 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. Peter Mundey draws on both quantitative and qualitative data to explore how habitually consuming nonessentials is sacred in American culture and how the Christian sacred interacts with such consumption. Mundey unpacks the history of American consumerism and the creeds of consumerism. Christian creeds related to both consuming and financial giving are also discussed, illuminating the ways that Christianity can fuel, resist, and passively ignore consumerism. Mundey’s emphasis throughout is to enumerate the underlying cultural ideology derived from both Christianity and consumerism that partially makes and shapes American consumers.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2023
ISBN-Print: 978-1-4985-9161-4
ISBN-Online: 978-1-4985-9162-1
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 150
Product type: Book Titles

1. Dedication No access
2. Contents No access
3. List of Tables No access
4. Acknowledgments No access
1. Book Overview No access
2. Notes No access
1. Religious Awakening: Origins of American Consumerism and the Great Depression (Late 1800s–1939) No access
2. Prophecies of Abundance, Patriotic Faith, and Religious Revival: WWII and the Postwar Economic Boom (1940–1959) No access
3. Religious Questioning, Adaptation, and Resilience: Cultural Upheaval, Countercultural Movements, and Energy Shortages (1960–1979) No access
4. Religious Resurgence: The Reagan Revolution and The New Consumerism (1980–1999) No access
5. Twenty-first Century Religion: 9/11, the Great Recession, Economic Recovery, and COVID-19 (2000–2021) No access
6. Conclusion No access
7. Notes No access
1. 1. How Prevalent Was Unfettered Discipleship in 2010? No access
2. 1. The Creeds of Prudent Consumerism No access
  2. Reflecting on the Creeds of Prudent Consumerism: Is Talk Cheap? No access
3. Hybrid Disciples: Mixing Unfettered and Prudent Consumer Tendencies No access
4. Religious Apostacy: Anti-Consumerist Rhetorics and Praxis No access
5. Conclusion No access
6. Notes No access
1. The Creed of Prosperity No access
2. The Creed of Fiscal Responsibility No access
3. The Creed of Dualism No access
4. The Creed of Ascetic Downshifting No access
5. 1. Quasi-Ascetic and Fiscally Prudent Versions of Prosperity Theology No access
  2. Dualism Revisited: Situationally and Selectively Blending Dualism with the Other Economic Creeds No access
6. The Creed of Consumer Comfort and Peace No access
7. The Creed of Economic, Social, and Environmental Justice No access
8. The Creed of Capitalist Production No access
9. Conclusion No access
10. Notes No access
1. Opting Out of Financial Giving by Opting into Consumerism No access
2. Dualism and Financial Giving No access
3. 1. 1. Automatic Tithing No access
    2. “Off-the-Top” Tithing No access
    3. The Countercultural Nature of Tithing No access
    4. Tithing as a Form of Quasi-Monasticism No access
4. 1. Upbringing Effects No access
  2. Prosperity Gospels No access
  3. The Christian Identity of Giving No access
  4. The Christian Rule of Giving No access
  5. “Pay the Bills” and Support Sacred Causes No access
  6. What’s Missing? No access
5. Conclusion No access
6. Notes No access
1. Notes No access
Appendix No access Pages 121 - 132
Bibliography No access Pages 133 - 144
Index No access Pages 145 - 148
About the Author No access Pages 149 - 150