The word ‘consumerism’ is one that elicits immediate response. Critics of consumerism can be found among all political allegiances, every religious faith and within most fields of ethical inquiry. However, it is not immediately clear that there is a consensus about how consumerism functions in society. Consumerism is often portrayed as simply an ideology or a belief system. Within this portrayal, a Christian response to consumerism is found by investigating the conflicting beliefs. For instance, the implicit anthropology of consumerism, as in the human as primarily a rational individual consumer, can be critiqued by a theological approach to anthropology. Any investigation into what it means to be made in the image of God would quickly critique the notion of human-as-consumer.
In a recent book, Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture, Vincent Miller argues that consumerism doesn’t just function in this way. It is not simply a set of beliefs that need to be resisted, but rather “it is primarily a way of relating to beliefs – a set of habits of interpretation and use – that renders the ‘content’ of beliefs and value less important.” If consumerism functions as a ‘way of relating’ that denigrates the content of ‘beliefs’, then it doesn’t primarily function as an ideology. Indeed, it can function independently of ideology. This is an important point as it helps explain why consumer capitalism is so adept at embracing ideological opposition and turning it into yet another commodity. The prevalence of Che Gevuera T-Shirts worn by those who have no knowledge of (or allegiance to) his political ideas is a clear and ironic example.
Miller is particularly concerned with how consumerism has affected religion. In separating belief from practice, consumerism has detached Christian symbols from the tradition and community that they were once a part of and has placed these symbols alongside other cultural symbols. What does it mean for the Christian tradition that the cross has been detached from the community and tradition that makes it intelligible? One can purchase a cross, a Tibetan prayer flag, and a Mickey Mouse doll from the same store and relate to each item in whichever way one chooses.
Consider the recent tendency towards ‘recovering’ spiritual disciplines and practices from the wider Christian tradition. This is a valuable and needed recovery but one that can be self-defeating if Miller’s analysis is correct. In a culture of consumerism, we are disciplined into treating spiritual practices as distinct from the tradition and community in which they emerged. Therefore we may or may not encounter the purpose of these practices as originally construed and instead we are able to invest practices with our own meanings. This is particularly concerning when you consider the modern obsession with ‘self-help’. Consider the discipline of fasting, which was primarily considered to draw one’s attention away from oneself and towards God. Today, it is not uncommon to approach fasting as a type of ‘de-tox’. This serves to place the attention on oneself, primarily for the purpose of a healthy body.
Whether Miller’s approach is the only way to frame consumerism, it is particularly helpful in revealing why it is so problematic in modern culture to coherently combine belief and practices in the Christian community.
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