Consuming religion: Christian faith and practice in a consumer culture

Abstract

Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture. By Vincent J. Miller. New York: Continuum. 2003. 208 pp. $24.95 (cloth). Consumer culture changes religious belief and practice, for worse or better. This book details the nature and shape of the transformation, with suggested tactics for countering the detrimental effects. Miller carefully describes the genesis of consumer culture and the rise of advertising in twentieth century America. The single-family home becomes the basic social unit where are thrust into an unprecedented need to consume. Today, even those with little money spend for physical needs but also to establish social identity through conspicuous consumption. Advertisement courts the public with messages that school them into aggressive spending habits. Religion under the influence of consumer forces is diluted, marked by distraction and a wandering eye. Religious consumerism is evident in the international celebrity of spiritual figures (the Dalai Lama, John Paul II, and Mother Teresa), audio samples of religious music mixed into pop songs, incorporation of religions imagery and visual art in music videos and other commodities, and the spiritual texts and content widely accessible in hooks and on the Internet. Religious content once issued from communities and institutions with roots in a given practice, but now is abstracted from its context. Miller is doubtful that the life and works of religious celebrities are properly interpreted. Religious language and imagery surface in bookstore chains, on cable TV, and other secular outlets. The limits of such religious commodities to shape authentic faith and practice, Miller argues, are due in part to the shopper's (seekers) insatiable desire. Religion is one among main options in an endless stream. If spirituality is increasingly a habit of consumer choice, and religious commodities are obtained without awareness of the communities that originate them, in most cases individuals will not be able to sustain commitment or practice. Miller's treatment of the literature around consumer culture makes this a fine sourcebook for authoritative studies in sociology, as well as many philosophical and theological treatments of consumerism. For example, his chapter on the rise of advertising and mass production in America leads us back to Stuart Ewen's masterful classic, Captains of Consciousness. Each chapter offers examples of shallow or excessive consumption, but repeatedly Miller states that his intention is not primarily to critique consumerism. In the introduction he writes: people frequently misread any discussion of [consumerism] as a lifestyle indictment (p. …