Western consumer culture is creating a psycho-spiritual crisis that leaves us disoriented and bereft of purpose. How can we treat our sick culture and make ourselves well? asks John F Schumaker.
The confusion comes from the fact that a lot of what passes for “religion” in contemporary consumerist societies operates in exactly the same transactional mode as the rest of society. It’s a kind of consumer capitalist degeneration of religion, where the original religious function (reconnecting) has become overwhelmed by the consumerist dynamic of making payment (financial or by performing supposedly “moral” or “godly” acts) for some reward (salvation, heaven, prosperity or just membership of the club).
The confusion comes from the fact that a lot of what passes for “religion” in contemporary consumerist societies operates in exactly the same transactional mode as the rest of society. It’s a kind of consumer capitalist degeneration of religion, where the original religious function (reconnecting) has become overwhelmed by the consumerist dynamic of making payment (financial or by performing supposedly “moral” or “godly” acts) for some reward (salvation, heaven, prosperity or just membership of the club).