Abstract
Due to the global challenges that are posed by the Anthropocene and the academic focus on the fragmented state of modernity, we extend an invitation for shared dialogue on the all-pervading nature of consumerism as the seemingly problematic ethos of Western consumer culture. To this end, we outline a way to approach consumerism as an implicit religion, theorized as having adopted functionalities related to explicitly faith-based traditions within secular settings. We suggest that a similar kind of holistic and multidimensional approach might be of great benefit in the implementation of sustainability, as this would allow, e.g., (i) a more holistic analysis of the all-pervading nature of consumerism; (ii) acknowledgement of the functional diversity of the phenomenon; (iii) recognition of the shallowness of the critique of consumerism as a way of life; and, (iv) shared dialogue across a spectrum of academic perspectives under a unified model. This approach problematizes standard interpretations of consumerism as being about the promotion of the individual against the collective and as leading to a general sense of purposelessness. The perspective of religion reveals how patterns of consumption become illuminated with meaning and connected to a shared way for individuals to articulate a sense of purpose in contemporary contexts.
Highlights
In this article, we adopt the perspective of religion to rethink consumerism as an existential strategy, and discuss the meaning of this point of view in the age of the Anthropocene—the geological epoch defined by the dominant impact of humans on the global environment [1,2,3]
We introduce a way to understand the dynamics between culture, religion, and consumption in contemporary settings and offer contextualized definitions for Western consumer culture as a way of life, consumerism as an ethos for this cultural context, and religion as a way of constructing life-meaning, while considering the general role and significance of consumption in the Anthropocene
We propose that the macro-cultural framework that is outlined above constitutes a substantive interpretation of consumerism in so far as we understand it as an implicit religion that exists within the fabric of everyday life and the social reality of people
Summary
We adopt the perspective of religion to rethink consumerism as an existential strategy, and discuss the meaning of this point of view in the age of the Anthropocene—the geological epoch defined by the dominant impact of humans on the global environment [1,2,3]. Our goal is to demonstrate how this approach can be used to combine different sides of often fragmented, consumerism-related research under a unified theoretical model to enable a shared dialogue that is focused on overcoming the global challenges posed by the Anthropocene To this end, the literature reviewed represents several different fields of research, such as consumer culture theory, consumer psychology, anthropology, and theology, as well as marketing, social, cultural, media and communication, and sustainability studies, in dialogue with the study of religions. The literature reviewed represents several different fields of research, such as consumer culture theory, consumer psychology, anthropology, and theology, as well as marketing, social, cultural, media and communication, and sustainability studies, in dialogue with the study of religions In this context, the phenomenon of religion is approached primarily from a sociological perspective. We argue that a more holistic model of consumerism, such as the one that is outlined in this article, is useful but of pressing value in the effort to mobilize social changes towards sustainability—changes that can be driven by transformative learning [8]
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