Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Consuming Faith: Integrating Who We Are with What We Buy

Americans search for identity through a stunning and paradoxical pair of passions: spirituality and consumerism. We participate in religion or practice spirituality on the one hand, and are keen consumers on the other. But, as Tom Beaudoins Consuming Faith makes clear, if we truly seek to put our spirituality into practice, we are called to integrate who we are with what we buy. In our consumer-driven culture what we buy, wear, eat, and drive say much about our deepest values. We buy the products that seem to meet our spiritual needs—they make us feel good, offer us experiences of community, tap into our deepest desires, form our imaginations, help us fit in. But if we stop to think about how we are linked to the rest of the world through our purchases, we are faced with some tough questions: Where do these products come from? Who made them and in what conditions do they work? How does what I buy affect others? What does my faith have to do with what I buy? When is enough, enough? Today, it is more important than ever to pay attention to our economic spirituality. Consuming Faith is an invitation to think about how our purchases affect who we are as individuals and as members of a global community. This breakthrough book offers practical ways that individuals, communities, and churches can practice a more intentional economic spirituality that integrates our values with what we buy.