A recent lecture in my Religion in Culture class pointed out some quite strange statistics. In a somewhat recent survey 75% of Americans agreed that the Bible teaches that “God helps those who help themselves.” By no means do I consider myself a religious scholar or expert on all things Christian. But I was raised in a Christian home and am an active member of a campus ministry, so I’ve done my fair share of reading and studying of the Bible and Christian doctrine. As far as I can tell, the overall message of Christianity and God is not one of self help but one of love and care for others. When it comes down to it I’m sure most other practicing Christians would agree as well. So how is it that so many people seemingly got it wrong on this survey? Granted the survey also revealed that a majority of respondents were also unable to name the Ten Commandments and Gospels. So maybe the problem is simply a lack of knowledge and proper exploration on the individual’s part. But maybe not, maybe it’s more complex than that.
The remainder of the lecture, as well as a recommendation for further reading, led me to at least entertain the possibility of a more complex answer. Perhaps the fact that Americans felt that God would reward those who helped themselves is tied to our Consumerist society. Consumerism in America is widespread and has come to influence most all aspects of our lives. It’s quite feasible that it has permeated into the religious realm as well. The truth is, Christianity looks much different from country to country, person to person. So then, is “American Christianity” influenced by Consumerism? I feel the answer is yes. In a society that is so entrenched in its consumption it’s not far fetched to think it has affected our religion. Religion has always served as a means of giving meaning and legitimacy to our lives. American’s idea of Christianity then has been distorted to give validity for our materialistic and often destructive ways. Though the Bible teaches to be modest, not take comfort in earthly gains, and help those who are in need, this fundamentally conflicts with our society. All societies, according to the Barrel model of Anthropology, consist of and are shaped of the economic systems and infrastructure. The market economy of America has not only created producers and consumers out of all of us; it has molded us in a way that lends itself to “pick-and-choose” ideologies. Instead of adhering to the true principles of Christianity, many Americans have come to pick the ones they like and discard, or perhaps formulate new ones (as is the case with the survey question), the ones we have distaste for. Consumerism only further fuels this. In today’s world we have what seems like an infinite array of choices of products. Everything we could ever ask for can be found in every shape in color at your local mall or superstore. This mindset has slowly been applied to ideology and morality. This summer in my Ethics class we discussed Consumerism in terms of its effect on morality and at the time I wondered how it affected your religion, since for me my religion is often times intertwined with morality and ethics. And after this class it’s all coming together for me.
American Christianity is in fact different than in other countries in that it for the most part plays right into our cultural ideals. Take for instance the hugely popular “mega-churches”. Are their extravagant facilities and arena-filling audiences not in line with our “bigger is better” mentalities. Our “secular” buildings are just as bad (i.e. average home size, malls, office buildings etc). And what about that “most wonderful time of the year” everyone is talking about? Most true Christians would say that Easter is just as important of a religious holiday if not more yet where is the multi-billion dollar industry for that one? The simplest things about our Christian faith like rituals and holidays like Christmas have become extravagant displays of wealth and consumption. It’s not about the birth of a savior but rather the newest gadgets. This is not what Christianity is meant to be. This is not to say that consumerism is evil or to blame for the distortion of Christianity in America. As Twitchell states, consumerism more mirror than lamp, meaning it does not shape our thoughts and actions so much as it reflects them. So if we are unhappy with what we are seeing, let’s not stop with blaming it on Consumerism. Let’s instead used it as self-reflection and change these things in ourselves that are not right. If we are unhappy with what our faith has become due to the influence of consumerism, let us not use our faith to influence the wrongs we see in consumerism. We all have seen how our consumption and spending habits have adversely affected those throughout the world and here, so then go back to true Christian ideals of modesty and love for your brothers and sisters and apply them to your everyday lives just as we have let our everyday ideas of economy and society affect our lives in faith.
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4 comments:
I agree with the basic premise that America's view of religion and the values we associate with it have been influenced by our culture of consumerism. In fact, in the early twentieth century while American culture was moving from middle class Victorianism to mass consumerism, our department stores were often designed after medieval churches and ads used religious tones to promote products. However, I'm not sure consumerism has had such an adverse affect on religion as you imply, religion has simply evolved to form values and new traditions in order to keep involvement and membership from waning. Further, to try and change our society back in time to a culture of self restraint, complete respect and 'love' for our neighbors would contradict the very nature of economic capitalism. In essence, a sort of religious revival would require an overhaul of our economic system and values.
I thought your writing was very insightful. What is true for the reflection of consumerism in America is true for all religions. At there core religions are meant for good, but everyone uses them as justification in every culture. One last thing to consider with the 75% would be that they are identifying with the common christian idea that one can not simply wait for God to answer all of there prayers; they need to live an active christian life style and God will help them along the way.
I strongly agree with what you have presented in your article. I like that you pointed out Christmas--what is supposed to be the celebration of the birth of Christ has turned into a shopping and gift-giving frenzy. I think it's great that gift-giving brings friends and family together, but when tackling others in stores for high-demand products comes into the picture we've gone a little (more like a lot) overboard.
I also like that you gave suggestions in the conclusion of your article--instead of basing Christianity off of our consumer habits we should be going back to what the REAL idea of Christianity is--reaching out to better and help others instead of only thinking about helping yourself.
Very good. I agree with Tana that we need to go back to the real idea of Christianity. Also, with global warming and limited resources, our obsession with consumerism is becoming even more important. From what I've seen personally and in my friends, I think there is somewhat of a cultural revolution going on. I know a lot of people who consider themselves minimalists. Some are Christian, some aren't. But hopefully there is some change in the future-whether it be for religious or other reasons.
Does anyone else think there is somewhat of a revolution against consumerism occurring in our age? It's hard to make a big difference because our society is so centered around consumerism, but I think there are definitely decisions one can make to affect the future of our society.
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