Consumerism Is Not A Religion
Society has evolved over time to give less power and authority to church figureheads, who at one point held almost absolute political power. Everything from marriages, to scientific research had to be done with the approval from the church. Fast forward a few decades and there are “trendy” marriages taking place at Disney Land, or even people being buried in coffins with motorcycle paraphernalia. For some people these materialistic items become an intense passion which gives them a sense of identity and meaning. Consumerism has evolved to overpower traditional values and developed into a mainstream way of life that reflects common beliefs.Consumerism, as Matt Rossano (2010) describes it, has become a Modern Religion. For example, take the loyalty and dedication of Apple fans. It is not unheard of for people to give generous monetary sacrifices, sign extended contracts, or to wait for hours outside a store before a new release in order to obtain the newest technology. Rossano (2010) also describes Apple fans as “bear[ing] an eerie resemblance to a religious cult: a tight-knit network of emotionally committed adherents, faith in a “savior” figure (Steve Jobs), and a generalized hostility toward an external ‘evil’”.
Apple and Android users are known to exhibit in-group and out-group type behaviour towards one another, each party passionately believing that their way is the best option. Religion according to Rossano (2010) may be explained as “that by which we willingly offer service and sacrifice in exchange for a sense of meaning and purpose”. The expressive quality that consumerism offers people allows them to identify and find value from this cultural behaviour. Today people are able to customize everything and anything to express a certain image that they use to represent themselves. However, trends change and people change to follow these trends and maintain their desired expression. Molding one’s identity around constantly changing trends requires a dedication to sacrifice a large proportion of one’s income to that cause. After a certain point, people view these materialistic items as a necessity to their life. It becomes an adoration of a certain degree.Similarly, Mathias Zick Varul (2015) describes consumerism as containing a level of spirituality which is “sustained by the structural romanticism of money”.
People begin to worship materialism and assume an identity that is maintained by expression through consumer items. Consumerism brings people together in a shared passion and common identity as a traditional religion would. In this sense, people dedicate themselves to supporting certain brands, which they incorporate into their identity. Brand loyalty has become an important practice as consumers acquire higher status relationships with the companies they support. In addition to fostering a common identity, the religion of consumerism has overshadowed traditional religious holidays. Malls have taken on the role of expressing what used to be considered spiritual holidays. Christmas, Halloween, and Easter have become celebrations that embody the desire for consumption. The malls become decorated floor to ceiling with symbolic representations of newly consumeristic holidays. These occasions have taken on materialistic values of receiving indulgent gifts. Society continues to participate in the modern interpretation of these holidays, and they have evolved to embody the consumeristic culture.In recent years, holidays such as Black Friday and Boxing Day have been added to calendars to reflect their popularity within a society obsessed with consuming.
Thousands of people congregate to celebrate materialistic love. Sales and promotions can be found at nearly any store on most items. Sometimes line ups begin in the early hours of the morning, with people camping outside of their favourite store. Consumerism has evolved into a modern religion because it reflects a wide range of values and unites people who hold those values. It has developed its own holidays reflective of its principles, which people actively participate in. This religion gives people a reinforced identity as well as a community of other similar people who are easily identified. Consumerism has become a practice that society is devoted to and loyal in maintaining their identities with external materialistic items to represent themselves.
Religion has provided people with spiritual life meaning for its entire existence. Traditionally religious people are more content with their lives and seek out less external gratification in the form of materialism. Consumerism is something that tends to offer short-term gratification, however, the effects are temporary, and people rarely feel entirely satisfied by these materialistic gains. The Bible states in various verses that people will never be fully satisfied by their money or materialistic wealth. People discover a sense of hope and purpose through their faith. Religion answers questions that people search for about the meaning of life and how to live it. As discovered by researchers at Tel Aviv University and Duke University, consumerism can only provide superficial and short-term satisfaction.
Religious people are more content with their possessions and seek less materialistic items to satisfy them. Those who were less religious tended to go for more expressive (and expensive) brand name items. The reasoning behind this is likely because their identity is based on their appearances and those higher in religiosity have an identity based on spirituality. It can be argued that those who are more religious tend to be happier and lead more fulfilled lives. Religion gathers people together to form relationships based on their common belief, which allows people to have a sense of belongingness, and encourages one another to uphold their practices and values. Religious communities also tend to understand that not all of life is within their control, and they allow a higher power to direct them for a better cause. This understanding may result in higher levels of hope that in the future, things will fall together the way they are meant to. This trust in a higher power allows people to be more at peace with death and the process of life.
People feel comforted by the idea of all their loved ones being in a “heaven” and meeting their creator to answer all of the questions. This provides religious people with an incentive to pursue the values and morals sent out for them by that particular faith. Consumerism does not offer any sort of emotional value within the realm of death. People who are buried with their materialistic items often are not doing it with spiritual intent of passing over to the afterlife with it, but with self-centred ideals. Unlike in ancient Egyptian times, where the belief was to acquire as much as possible to bring with one after death.
Consumerism is not a religion because it merely fosters the false sense that acquiring more will lead to happiness. This leads to short-term satisfaction, followed by a sense of emptiness and disregard for the previously “new and shiny” items. In a cycle, one then continues to buy more thinking they will end up more satisfied. People are shopping to feel fulfillment and value; however, they are left empty and dissatisfied. Consumerism lacks the major component of spiritual satisfaction that is found in traditional religion. For this reason, consumerism cannot replace traditional religion because it only provides superficial satisfaction.
