How Does Consumerism Affect Religion and Spirituality?

How Does Consumerism Affect Religion and Spirituality?

  • Submitted By: Karenai
  • Date Submitted: 05/12/2010 3:26 PM
  • Category: Religion
  • Words: 1706
  • Page: 7
  • Views: 2

Consumerism is a word that is understood by a large majority of the population. It is occasionally used to denote the consumer movement and the advocacy for protecting consumer interests (Banks & Stevens 2007). However, as Possamai (2009: 71) has discovered, consumerism is now one of the key aspects of post modernity, where everyone in the current society regardless of their religious or spiritual beliefs take part in it – the non-consumers are simply excluded. Many sectors of today’s society exploit religion and spirituality for consumeristic gains. The most obvious are the large corporations that dictate how religious ‘holy days’ are run and promote ‘spiritual’ and ‘divine’ products. Similarly, religious institutions grasp the economic benefits of exploiting their believers. On a micro-level, individuals also develop their own versions of religious or spiritual products for other consumers to buy.
Miller (2004) contends that consumer culture has influenced all areas of our lives, including our approach to, and practice of, religion. Undeniably, the culture of consumption reduces all things religious – beliefs, values and symbols – into mere objects for consumption rather than value systems that can give direction and meaning. As such, Miller (2004) argues that religion is under extensive challenge from consumer culture. For example, large corporations transformed the celebration of the birth of Jesus, who lived a life of simplicity with people on the margins and died a criminal's death, into an ‘orgy of over-eating, gluttonous drinking and indulging on worthless items’ (Miller 2004). Jesus, the purpose of Christmas, is replaced by a secular figure, Santa Claus. Although Santa Claus was originally based on the Christian figure Saint Nicholas, many of today’s post modern youth associate him with expensive gifts that are advertised as the ‘most wanted’ toy for this year’s Christmas (Austin 2009). Within this perspective, Santa Claus could even be labeled as the...

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