Christian Community in A Consumerist Culture

James Henley
CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY IN A CONSUMERIST CULTURE
An exploration of the implications of a consumerist culture on the forming and shaping of Christian
communities of emerging adults
JAMES HENLEY
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to the Revd Dr Ian Davies for his corrections,
contributions and inspiring dialogue, and to friends and family
for their helpful comments.
Abstract
Over recent times, consumerism has become increasingly
prevalent within UK society. Increases in amounts of consumer
products and advertising, and the rise of the internet and social
networking have led to the emergence of a prevailing
consumerist culture – that is, a culture where the principal
driving force is that of consumption. This culture has an effect on
the way people relate to each other, how they attempt to achieve
success and self-fulfilment, and the way their own sense of
identity is constructed. This culture also inevitably has an effect
on the way Christian communities function and on their
understanding of Christian beliefs and values. This is especially
true of a current generation of emerging adults (18-25 year olds),
who are one of the first groups to have grown up within this
consumerist culture.
This dissertation attempts to explore the implications of a

consumerist culture on the forming and shaping of Christian
communities of emerging adults. It utilises three key concepts
from Bauman’s ‘Consuming Life’ (2007): commoditisation,
privatisation and subjectivity fetishism, to develop an
understanding of such a culture. The theological implications of
these concepts are then explored, suggesting the implications of a
consumerist culture on an understanding of God and Christian
community. A tension is highlighted between the need to engage
in the workings of such a culture, and the need to maintain a
distinctive sense of Christian identity and values. This is a tension
between a strategy of transcendence or withdrawal, and one of
immanence or accommodation.
Finally, three key tensions are discussed, which those seeking to

create and maintain Christian communities of emerging adults
must attempt to understand and manage. Some initial ideas and
theological resources are discussed which can be utilised in
order to address these tensions within the mission and worship
of such a community.
Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................ 2
Chapter 1: A Consumerist Culture..............................................................5
Chapter 2: Theological Implications.......................................................11
Chapter 3: Christian Community in a Consumerist Culture..........18
Conclusion......................................................................................................... 26
Bibliography..................................................................................................... 30
Christian Community in a Consumerist Culture
Introduction
In the UK, we live in a culture where consumer choice abounds. The buying and selling of products lies
at the very core of western, capitalist culture, which holds consumption as one of its defining
characteristics. As Julie Kelly (2003, p.3) asserts, we find ourselves within ‘a society in which we do
not work to live, but work to shop, and where shopping is an “experience” not based on need but on
desire and pleasure.’ The current emerging generation of adults is one of the first groups who have
been born into and grown up within this consumerist culture, and, I would argue, form the first
generation of indigenous consumers.
This consumerist culture has implications for religious belief, in particular for a Christian faith which
has historically positioned itself as the traditional cultural or folk religion in the UK. Sociologist, Steven
Miles (1998, cited Bartholomew, 2000, p.2) asserts that consumerism itself ‘is arguably the religion of
the late twentieth century’, and similarly the sociologist/theologian, Alan Storkey (2000, p.100),
argues that ‘it is the chief rival to God in our time’. It is because of these assertions that the
examination of this consumerist culture is a necessary task which needs to be undertaken, especially
by those involved in work with the young people who are growing up within it.
This dissertation is an attempt to begin an exploration of consumerist culture and its implications for
the forming and shaping of Christian communities of emerging adults. It is an exploratory study with
the three aims of: (1) exploring the key concepts that characterise a consumerist culture, (2)
examining the theological implications of those characteristics, and (3) beginning to sketch out some
of the practical responses which could be utilised by those involved in cultivating Christian community
amongst young, emerging adults.
Personal Perspective and Context

This dissertation will be inevitably influenced and informed by my own personal context and
perspectives. In particular, it is shaped by my own work to provide leadership for ‘The Lab’, a Christian
community, in Newport, South Wales, comprised primarily of young people between the ages of 18
and 25. The Lab is an attempt to develop a community which is relevant to its context within the
culture around it and engages with it. It is also a group of young people who inevitably find themselves
having to face the challenge of integrating their own consumer desires with their own understanding
of their Christian faith.
Defining Terms
Because of the conceptual, abstract nature of this particular work, there are a number of different
sociological and theological terms which are utilised at different points throughout, and which will be
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explained and described during the main body of the dissertation. However, there are several terms
which are used from the outset, and which provide a framework for the bounds of the study itself.
These are explained below.
Emerging Adult
In their study, Smith and Snell (2009, p.4) use the term ‘emerging adult’ to describe a young person
between the ages of 18 and 23, describing a period of life when young people are emerging with new
found freedom as adults, but are still often in full-time education, receiving support from their parents
or family, and/or in other ways still not yet ‘emerged’ as a full-grown adult. For the purposes of this
dissertation, to fit in with the National Youth Agency definition of a young person as someone up to the
age of 25, I will use the term emerging adult to refer to someone between the ages of 18 and 25.
Consumerist Culture
A consumerist culture is a culture in which the ‘principal propelling force’ is that of consumption
(Bauman Z. , 2007, p.28). Christopher Kiesling (1978, cited Brunk, 2008, p.291) describes
consumerism as:
a complex consisting of: 1) an economic system which places an extremely high value
on the incessant production and consumption of material goods and services at an even
higher level of physical convenience and comfort; 2) an accompanying mentality which
assumes that such a system is the best or only one possible; and 3) a related tendency
or even drive to find much, sometimes most, though rarely all human fulfilment in
providing and consuming these material goods and services.
Kiesling’s definition is helpful since it traces the effects of the consumerist system on mainstream
culture from surface observation, through to a more hidden sub-conscious meaning, to the
implications which come from the external economic system described being incorporated into the
worldview of the individual. This also provides us with a helpful understanding of the nature of culture
itself as a multi-layered phenomenon. For the purposes of this dissertation, the term, consumerist
culture, is used to describe the incorporation of this ‘consumerist system’ into both external and
internal aspects of society.
Christian community
The term Christian community describes a group of people seeking to live out their Christian beliefs
together. This term is used rather than the term, ‘church’, in order to place an emphasis on the
relationships and sense of shared identity which characterise the word community, as well as to
emphasise that this may refer to communities of young adults who exist outside of the structures of
the institutional, established church.
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Overview
‘Chapter One: A Consumerist Culture’ offers an exploration of some of the key concepts and processes
which characterise a consumer culture. This forms a framework and understanding of the workings of
a consumerist culture which is vital in order to begin to examine it theologically. ‘Chapter Two:
Theological Implications’ begins this theological examination and discussion, and indicates some of the
theological implications of contextualising Christian theology and tradition within a consumerist
culture. Finally, ‘Chapter Three: Christian Community in a Consumerist Culture’ draws the previous
two chapters together and present the key challenges which a consumerist culture presents to forming
Christian community, as well as beginning to sketch out a practical response or responses.
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Chapter 1: A Consumerist Culture

The purpose of this opening chapter is to begin to explore the effects and processes which are
characteristic of a consumerist culture – that is, a culture where the ‘principal propelling force’ is
consumption (Bauman Z. , 2007, p.28). A complete description of the different characteristics of such a
culture would take far more room than this dissertation allows, so for the purposes of this exploratory
study I will focus on three key concepts drawn from Zygmunt Bauman’s [ CITATION Bau07 \n \t \l
2057 ] ‘Consuming Life’. These are commoditisation, privatisation, and subjectivity fetishism.
I will attempt to explore each concept, beginning by defining it in an abstract sense and drawing
observations about the nature of a consumerist culture in general. I will then attempt to draw links
from the abstract and general to the specific, practical research of others who have focussed
specifically on the effects of such a culture on Christian communities and on young adults. This will
form the groundwork for chapter two where I will consider a theological response based on the
observations found in this chapter.
1. Commoditisation
‘Commoditisation’ is the core process of a consumerist culture. If a culture is primarily built upon the
promotion and consumption of goods, then it is logical that the key process in that culture would be
commoditisation, that is, the transformation of goods, services and ultimately people into
commodities.
Furthermore, if the ultimate goal of such a culture is to increase the value and desirability of its goods,
then the promotion and marketing of those goods will also be hugely important. Not only will people
find themselves becoming commodities, but in order to participate in society they will also need to be
able to promote and market themselves in order to increase the value and desirability of their product.
[People] are enticed, nudged, or forced to promote an attractive and

desirable commodity, and so to try as hard as they can, and using the best means at
their disposal, to enhance the market value of the goods they sell. And the commodity
they are prompted to put on the market, promote and sell is themselves.
They are, simultaneously, promoters of commodities and the commodities they promote.

(Bauman, 2007, p.6)
So the main purpose for the promotion of the self is this attempt to regain identity and value through
being identified as a commodity worth consuming by other consumers. This attempt to gain identity
through consumption has been identified by a number of researchers who bring a more practical
perspective. Tom Beaudoin (2003, p.5) calls this aspect of consumerist culture the ‘branding economy’
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and contends that, ‘we make an identity for ourselves, and an identity is made for us by our
relationships to consumer goods’. He adds that the products that we consume ‘do “identity work” for
us, transmitting messages about ourselves to ourselves and others.’
Promoters & Commodities

Bauman (2007, p.6) argues that, in order to be able to achieve success on a societal level, people are
forced first and foremost to ‘recast themselves as commodities’. Drawing on Cartesian philosophy, he
asserts that this integration of a person into the consumerist culture causes him/her to cease to be
able to be an ‘object’ – able to impartially observe the system from the outside (Bauman, 2007, pp.11-
12). Instead, s/he is forced to become a ‘subject’ within the system itself, becoming a commodity to be
bought into and promoted.
This re-emergence as a commodity ironically must also mean a loss of identity and individuality, even
though individual recognition is the goal of the commoditisation process. Once they become a
commodity, the individual is dissolved into the veritable ‘sea’ of other commodities from which
consumers have to choose. Because of this dissolution of individual identity and meaning, people are
then compelled to re-discover identity by consuming other commodities, in an incessant attempt to
rise above the sea of other commodities around them.
The task of the consumers therefore, and the principle motive prompting them to
engage in incessant consumer activity, is the task of… making themselves stand out
from the mass of indistinguishable objects… and so catching the eye of [other]
consumers... (Bauman, 2007, p.12)
It might be useful to understand this sea of commodities using the metaphor of a pond full of fish.
Small, inconsequential fish attempt to eat other fish in order to gain in size and importance, but only
with the ultimate goal of appearing more attractive a prospect to the other fish around them.
Ultimately, unfortunately there will always be bigger fish – and all the fish inevitably end up just
looking the same in spite of their attempts at individuality.
The Commoditisation of Culture

Vincent J. Miller (2000, p.285) describes the change that occurs when elements of culture itself
become commodities, observing that, ‘Culture is lifted from its background status as the social given in
which we dwell and [is] objectified. We experience it as something we can choose, modify and enjoy.’
This new ability to choose the cultural backdrop within which to live effectively creates a market for
culture where different ‘mix and match’ elements such as worldview, ethical perspectives and, of
course, religious beliefs can be ‘put on’ and tried out for size, or taken off and discarded if they are no
longer helpful or of use. Elements that don’t fit or are too restricting can easily be discarded and
replaced with other better value elements.
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Miller (2005, p.72) describes two key characteristics of a cultural element recast as a commodity,
‘abstraction’ and ‘reification’. He argues that, ‘they are abstracted from their conditions of production,
presented as objects valuable in themselves, shorn of their interrelations with the other symbols,
beliefs, and practices that determine their meaning and function’. This abstraction and disconnection
of meaning then results in a need for reification, where new ‘stand-alone’ meanings can be attributed,
often at odds with the element’s original meaning or significance. These newly objectified cultural
elements are ‘more susceptible to manipulation and misappropriation, free-floating signifiers that can
be put to uses unrelated, indeed contradictory, to the meanings they bear.’
2. Privatisation
A second key process that Bauman identifies as part of a consumerist culture is privatisation. On a
structural or political level, Bauman (2007, p.9) describes how governmental responsibility is
increasingly being abdicated, ‘through wholly or in part “contracting out” to private businesses the
essential institutional framework of service provision crucial for keeping labour sellable… As, for
instance, in the case of schooling and housing, care in old age, and a growing number of medical
services.’ This privatisation process is also linked to another process, which is ‘deregulation’ – the
‘flattening out’ of hierarchies and dissolution of rules and regulations to govern systems.
Both of these structural-level processes link within to the personal-level process of ‘individualisation’
and the dissolution of an objective sense of morality. Bauman (2007, p.49) describes individualisation
as ‘a far advanced deregulation and de-routinization of human conduct, directly related to a weakening
and/or crumbling of human bonds’. This increasingly rapid process of individuals isolating themselves
from a sense of community or belonging also has a huge effect for the changing way in which Christian
communities function.
Abstraction and Fragmentation of Meaning

Miller [ CITATION Mil05 \n \t \l 2057 ] argues that the abstraction and reification which characterise
the commoditisation process are inherently responsible for creating a disconnection between different
commodities, and ultimately different people. Each commodity is required to have a calculable
individual value, separate and independent to any outside influences or factors, and thus is required to
be a ‘stand-alone’ product in its own right. This shift to self-containment removes any sense of value,
or on a personal level any sense of purpose, from relationships and connections which may previously
have provided value, purpose or meaning.
The result of this shift is a profound sense of disconnection. However, the previous methods of
attempting to find meaning or identity, by building and cultivating relationships, are no longer viable.
Relationships, which previously may have been incredibly fulfilling, are now reduced simply to
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interactions between consumers and commodities. So it is those consumer-commodity interactions

that the inhabitants of a consumerist culture attempt to utilise in order to regain their own identity
and purpose.
If a consumerist culture primarily functions as a market or as a sea of different commodities which can
be consumed, then that paints a pretty bleak picture of humanity. Humans are reduced simply to
commodities to be consumed and consumers to consume them. Therefore, in order to ease the human
conscience, it is inevitable that individuals will create for themselves a reality where life is about more
than just consumption. Instead of consumer choices being accepted for what they are, instead
individuals might try to justify them by suggesting that they have some deeper emotional benefit or
effect. Bauman (2007, pp.13-15) labels this ‘subjectivity fetishism’, which is the third key concept
being utilised to make sense of a complex conceptual area.
3. Subjectivity Fetishism
Subjectivity fetishism, Bauman (2007, p.15) argues, is a human product of a consumerist culture,
which allows ‘the buying and selling of tokens deployed in the construction of identity… to be effaced
from the appearance of the final product.’ Rather than simply understanding commodities for what
they are, instead they are elevated to a higher, idealised status. Commodities don’t just fulfil a need or
a task – instead they are able to make us better people, give us better lives and satisfy our deepest
desires.
Mark Sayers, uses a different term – ‘hyperreality’ (sic) – to describe this. Using a term coined by
philosopher Jean Baudrillard, for Sayers (2008, p.7), ‘hyperreality means that often we cannot tell the
difference between what advertising tells us about products, places and people and what they are like
in the real world’. Hyperreality describes the false aspirations that are created when young adults are
unable to tell the difference between the advertising messages in which they are encouraged to buy
goods and services, and the reality of the goods and services themselves.
For both Sayers and Bauman, the implications of this phenomenon are clear. As Bauman (2007, p.15)
writes, ‘What is assumed to be the materialization of the inner truth of self is in fact an idealization of
the material traces of consumer choices.’ A different sociologist, Krishan Kumar (1999 cited Sayers,
2008, p.7), explains it like this:
Our world has become so saturated with images and symbols that a new ‘electronic
reality’ has been created, whose effect is to obliterate any sense of an objective reality
lying behind the images and symbols. In this ‘simulated’ world, images become objects,
rather than reflecting them; reality becomes hyper-reality. In hyper-reality it is no
longer possible to distinguish the imaginary from the real… the true from the false.
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For young adults, this hyperreality or subjectivity fetishism results in confusion and a deep-set
frustration as the fulfilment which is promised from buying the right products does not materialise.
Returning to the fish metaphor, rather than confronting the reality that there is no way out of the pond
and learning to instead be fulfilled with their pond-life existence, the fish have chosen to pursue the
ideal that if they just consume enough of the other fish, or if they just consume the right fish, then they
will find a way out. But, for the purposes of our metaphor, the simple reality is that there is no way out
of the consumer pond. Commodities are commodities – in reality they do not provide us with any real
sense of identity or fulfilment, only in a subjective reality or hyperreality which has been created for
us.
Relationships and the Search for Belonging

This subjectivity fetishism, John Drane (2000, p.26) argues, is part of a widespread ‘search for
transcendence’ amongst people living in a consumerist culture. Drane (2000, pp.24-25) writes that,
‘Because of the collapse of traditional relational networks, and the way that material success has
become a culturally approved sign of worthwhile achievement, people… are struggling to establish
themselves as individuals of true worth.’ This breakdown of relational bonds, Miller [ CITATION
Mil05 \n \t \l 2057 ] would argue, is a result of the abstraction process mentioned above, where
identity is supposed to be no longer found in relationships between people but instead as something
self-contained and self-actualised.
The problem is that, whilst fulfilment is no longer found in relationships, it is still something which
must be actualised through relationships. As Bauman (2007, p.82) writes, ‘In the words of Michel
Maffesoli, “I am who I am because others recognise me as such”’. This need for relational recognition is
still something which is needed for people to find fulfilment, even though that fulfilment might not
actually be found in the relationships themselves. Within a consumerist culture, people feel required
to promote their own commodity, and consumption by others provides the recognition required for a
sense of fulfilment.
This recognition, Bauman (2007, p.83) argues, translates into a sense of ‘belonging’. However, this
belonging doesn’t come through finding collective identity with a group or other individuals, but
through a sense of being possessed by others as a commodity worth consuming. This possession, which
is only fully realised once it becomes public knowledge, is what, at least fleetingly, brings the much
needed sense of belonging. The unspeakable alternative to public recognition and possession, Bauman
argues, is ‘a succession of rejections or an ultimate exclusion’ from the consumerist system, and
ultimately from society as a whole.
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Conclusion
What has been argued in this chapter it that the core process of a consumerist culture is that of
commoditisation, where goods and products, and ultimately people and even elements of the culture
itself are turned into commodities to be bought and sold. Drawing upon this argument, it is useful to
understand a consumerist culture as a sea where all the commodities are different fish. The ultimate
aim of each fish is thus to make itself attractive enough to be consumed by other, more powerful fish.
By consuming other fish which are deemed to be attractive enough or useful enough, each fish is then
able to become more attractive to the others.
Within a consumerist culture, relationships between people are reduced to mere interactions between
consumers and commodities. This is a highly privatised and individualised reality, which is centred on
achieving a personal sense of fulfilment through achieving recognition from others. However, in order
to gain some form of meaning or fulfilment from the consumerist system, meaning is instead ascribed
to the consumer interactions themselves. This subjectivity fetishism asserts that the products we buy
into are able to make us better, make our lives better, and bring us fulfilment.
These core concepts form a conceptual model to build an understanding of the workings of a
consumerist culture. Utilising this framework, chapter two will seek to understand and explore the
theological implications of an all-pervasive consumerist culture. This theological framework will then
form a basis from which to begin to sketch a response, in chapter three.
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Chapter 2: Theological Implications

Following on from the conceptual groundwork attempted in the previous chapter, the aim of this
chapter is to attempt to begin to sketch out what might be the theological implications of the concepts
and mechanisms that have been argued characterise a consumerist culture. This theological task will
then form a foundation from which one might begin discussing the response which Christian
communities can make to the opportunities and threats of living within a consumerist culture.
The Dangers of a Value-based Critique

Substantive theological work effort has gone into a critique of the values and aims of a prevailing
consumerist culture. Concepts such as individualism, commoditisation and an emphasis on aesthetics
have been examined and judged from a biblical viewpoint. However, there is a danger that this kind of
critique falls short of an examination and understanding of the key processes which lie at the heart of
consumerist culture itself by instead focusing on a critique of that culture’s surface values and effects.
Miller (2000, p.277) describes further the danger of a narrow critique resulting from a lack of
understanding of the functions of a consumerist culture itself:
At the heart of this problem lies a simplistic conception of culture as a system of beliefs.
Such an approach comes easily to theologians and pontiffs, who are accustomed to
arguing the vital importance of conceptual distinctions for the life of the Christian
community. In addition to meanings and beliefs, an adequate understanding of culture
must address the underlying structures in which meanings are formed and received. If
beliefs and meanings are the contents of culture, these structures are the forms in
which they are cast.
In order to be able to begin a critique of a consumerist culture, Miller argues, any attempt needs to
address the structures or rather, I would argue, processes, at the very heart of such a culture from
which all elements of meaning and identity for that culture are derived. Using Bauman’s observations
from Cartesian philosophy which were discussed in the previous chapter, in order to offer a critique of
a consumerist culture we cannot work under the assumption that we are able to remain objective
observers outside of the consumerist system. Instead, we must seek to understand the place of
theologies and beliefs as a subject within that system, and critically examine the processes or
structures in which a consumerist culture forms and moulds those theologies and beliefs as it draws
them into itself. Hence the ensuing attempt to explore and develop an understanding of the theological
implications of the key concepts that lie behind a consumerist culture, which will once again draw on
the three key ideas discussed in the previous chapter: commoditisation, privatisation and subjectivity
fetishism.
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1. The Commoditisation of God

As described earlier, the key process of a consumerist culture is that of commoditisation where goods
and services, and ultimately people, become commodities with a price and value. Therefore in order to
understand the place of faith and religion within a consumerist culture, we must explore what it
means for religion itself to become a subject of the commoditisation process. What are the theological
and practical implications of faith itself becoming a commodity to be bought and sold?
This ‘commoditisation of God’ has led to the integration of consumer choice, and thus the range of
different motivating factors which are involved in choosing a product, into the process of forming
religious beliefs. Motivating factors such as personal gain, branding and marketing, and ‘value for
money’ are criticised as bad motives by some Christian communities, whilst others actively embrace
and utilise them in order to gain new members. Is a robust theological response then about choosing
which motives are good, and which are unacceptable?
On the other hand, is the problem with the process of commoditisation itself? Does a god which has
become a commodity still have the power to bring any real ontological fulfilment or transformation? It
is in answering such questions that one is confronted with one of the deeper challenges of a
consumerist culture, that is the dissolution of the identity and meaning of God himself, as he becomes
absorbed into a culture which is recast as a nameless sea of commodities.
Commoditisation and Contextualisation

The recasting of God as a commodity seems to be the most criticised effect of a consumerist culture by
contemporary theologians. As Skye Jethani (2009, p.38) writes, ‘The god of Consumer Christianity
does not inspire awe and wonder because he is nothing more than a commodity to be used for our
personal satisfaction and self-achievement.’ Whilst this argument is clearly compelling – a
commoditised God results in a consumer Christianity – it perhaps fails to explore fully the power of
understanding God, and indeed Christ, as part of the consumerist system itself.
The Liberation theologian Leonardo Boff (1980, p.43) writes that in attempting to approach Jesus, ‘we
come to him with that which we are and have, inserted into an unavoidable socio-historical context. ’
He makes the point that, as we ourselves are unable to separate ourselves from the context in which
we find ourselves, so we are unable to avoid projecting that same context onto Christ himself. This is a
vital element of the Incarnation, where Jesus Christ as God becomes subject to the world and the
cultural context into which he was born. Perhaps the Christ who is recast as a commodity is a Christ
who is incarnated into the consumerist system, becoming subject to the processes of the system itself.
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It is inevitable that our understanding of Jesus is affected and shaped by our own experiences and our
own culture. As Boff (1980, p.5) argues:
‘No matter how much [we] attempt to abstract from [ourselves] as subjects, [we] can
never escape the self and arrive at the object. For this reason, every life of Jesus will
necessarily partly reflect the life of its author.’
Therefore, perhaps it is inevitable that, for a consumerist culture, Christ is recast as a commodity to be
chosen and consumed. Perhaps then, rather than attempting to avoid the inevitable, it is more
pertinent to explore more fully the implications of a culture that has this ‘image’ of Jesus.
God as a Commodity
Understanding God as a commodity raises interesting questions about the nature of worship for those
who choose to follow him. If, within a consumerist culture, value is attributed through the
consumption of commodities, then surely this is a model for the way that culture should worship as
well. Worship to God would be expressed by ‘consuming him’. Jethani (2009, p.37) is critical of this
way of relating to God:
In a consumer worldview he [God] has no intrinsic value apart from his usefulness to
us. He is a tool we employ, a force we control, and a resource we plunder. We ascribe
value to him (the literal meaning of the word “worship”) based not on who he is, but on
what he can do for us.
Drawing on Bauman’s (2007, p.83) observations around the idea of ‘recognition’, which were explored
in chapter one, perhaps the consumerist form of worship to God is that of recognition and possession.
Within a consumerist culture, the primary way of ascribing worth is the public possession of the
commodity which is being sought after. This raises an interesting question about what it would look
like to ‘possess’ God as a commodity of ultimate value.
This possession and consumption is also what establishes a sense of identity for the consumer.
Therefore the consumption and possession of God as a commodity also implies that identity for the
consumer is gained from the consumption of that commodity. Christian consumers who choose to
consume God will also gain a sense of identity from him. However, as observed in chapter one, this
identity gained through consumption is unable to bring a sense of fulfilment for the consumer. This
fulfilment is only able to come through consumption by others.
Could God then also be presented as the consumer within the consumerist paradigm? Surely the love
of God for the world, and for each individual which is expressed through the biblical narrative and the
death and resurrection of Jesus, is an example of the recognition and possession explained above. God
could easily be presented as the ultimate consumer, who places high enough value on people as
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commodities to pay a huge price in order to possess them as his own. Perhaps then, within a
consumerist culture, God can be modelled as both the consumed and the consumer.
2. A Privatised God
Within a consumerist culture, the way relationships function is an important concern. This is
especially true since the notion of culture itself is defined by a sense of shared identity, worldview, and
inevitably relationship, between people. If such a culture is characterised by processes of privatisation
and individualisation, then what does this mean for a contextual understanding of God?
Whilst the broader privatisation of society has been primarily about achieving greater efficiency,
something similar can be said about its parallels on a personal level. Individualised values and beliefs
allow a greater efficiency, as there is no need to compromise in order to fit in with the beliefs of others.
Within a highly individualised culture, everyone can believe whatever works for them. As Nigel
Scotland (2000, p.145) argues, ‘Thus the starting point of many has become my needs, my self-interest
and my satisfaction.’
This need for individualised beliefs creates a need for an individualised God, that is, a God who is
multi-faceted so as to fit in with everyone’s understanding. There are both positives and negatives to
this plurality. Whilst it creates a more transcendental understanding of a God who is bigger than a
single understanding or viewpoint, at the same time God is fragmented, limited to ‘what works’ for
each individual within their own personal worldview and experience. In this sense, an individualised
God becomes both bigger and smaller at the same time.
The Abstraction of Meaning

As discussed in chapter one, this individualisation of culture has significant implications for the way in
which identity and meaning is understood within a consumerist culture. The abstraction of meaning
(Miller, 2005), which takes place as cultural elements are recast as stand-alone commodities which
have a self-contained identity and meaning, must clearly also have some application to understanding
God within a consumerist culture.
As mention previously, this abstraction is a removal of cultural elements ‘from their interrelations
with other symbols, beliefs, and practices that determine their meaning and function’ (Miller, 2005,
p.72). Within the consumerist framework, God is expected, just like any other commodity, to be
presented as a single, all-inclusive package. According to Miller (2005, p.83), this abstraction can be
seen within recent popular theology:
Much of the appeal of the transcendental and existential theologies of figures such as
Karl Rahner and Paul Tillich can be traced to their projects distinguishing the essence
of the Christian faith from the cultural particulars of traditions which had become
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increasingly unintelligible to modern believers. This task is… essentially one of

abstraction.
What this abstraction means is the fragmentation of the many different images and understandings of
God, and of all the different narratives, symbols and traditions which help to build up that
understanding. God is no longer able to be understood within the context of a broader faith tradition
and narrative, as any sense of his meaning or identity is required to be self-contained.
3. God and Subjectivity Fetishism

For the consumer, subjectivity fetishism (Bauman Z. , 2007, pp.17-20) reflects a controllable,
constructed reality, or hyperreality [ CITATION Say08 \l 2057 ], in which the commodities which are
consumed are ‘lifted up’ as being able to bring the existential fulfilment and meaning which the
consumer craves. This reality, Bauman (2007, p.20) argues, is entirely an invention of the culture in
order to present itself as an end in itself; capable of filling the void for self-fulfilment which the process
of commoditisation – which all elements of the culture are subjected to – creates.
It is obvious, then, that this subjectivity fetishism must have an effect on the way the participants in a
consumerist culture understand God. What place is there for God within this constructed reality – if
any? And, if there is a place for some understanding of God, what shape does it take?
Sayers (2008, pp.98-104) compares this ‘lifting up’ of commodities to the worship of idols, suggesting
that the hyperreality (sic) which is created by the consumer is, in itself, a elaborate form of idolatry. He
draws on Eugene Peterson’s (2005 cited Sayers, 2008, p.101) definition; ‘Idols are non-gods and as
such are much more congenial to us than God, for we not only have the pleasure of making them… but
also of controlling them’. For Sayers, this notion of control is crucial.
Effectively, in applying an existential narrative over the top of the consumerist system, the consumer is
able to mask the reality that even the very workings of culture itself have become commoditised.
Because of this, they are then, with impunity, able to apply the same complete control that is afforded
to the consumer in any consumer transaction to the whole of life, culture and inevitably also
spirituality. In the most critical sense, it could be argued that consumerist culture has traded an
unpredictable God for its own gods which can be controlled. The ultimate power, though, behind these
controllable gods are the participants in a consumerist culture itself – us.
If God has a place within the concept of subjectivity fetishism, then it is a place which can be carefully
controlled and defined. And the worship, or consumption, of God has, as its chief goal, self-fulfilment,
and self-actualisation. This is the same treatment as would be applied to any other commodity which is
chosen for consumption. Any inability to achieve this goal is then blamed on ‘the inadequacy,
unsoundness or defectiveness of a wrongly chosen commodity’ (Bauman, 2007, p.20).
15
Moving Forward: The Art of Subversion

It is obvious that the vocabulary used when describing the theological implications of a consumerist
culture is very different to the language of Christian theological tradition. However, it is important, in
order to make sense of God within a consumerist culture, to understand his place within it. It is clear
that in subjecting God to the processes of such a culture, there are both clear positives and negatives.
So, how might we begin to build a response to a consumerist culture, which both embraces a God who
is actively involved in the workings of culture, but which also attempts to challenge the aspects of that
culture which appear to be contrary to those equally important elements of a biblical understanding of
God? Isolation is clearly an almost impossible option, especially when attempting to sketch a model of
Christian community with emerging adults who are already entirely indigenous to such a consumerist
culture. However, participating in such a society or culture at all means unavoidably allowing
ourselves, our community life and ultimately even the God we worship, to become subjects of the
culture, and therefore to be dissolved into the sea of commodities which constitutes a consumerist
culture. This is a key question for those seeking to form Christian communities in a consumerist
culture – to what extent can a Christian community participate in such a culture, whilst still
maintaining a distinctive Christian identity?
However, in the Incarnation we find ourselves with the image of a God who, in the person of Jesus,
becomes entirely contextualised within culture as a man. And yet, rather than being forced to relent to
the workings of that culture, Jesus was able to remain distinctive and to subvert it entirely in many
different ways, but perhaps fundamentally through his death and resurrection. Perhaps, in going on to
try and build a model for cultural engagement, there is something useful which can be learned from
the ‘art of subversion’ which Jesus practiced.
Conclusion
Drawing on the previous exploration of a consumerist culture in chapter one, this chapter has
explored the theological implications of such a culture. Rather than attempting to offer a theological
critique based on the values it espouses, I have sought to instead ‘follow through’ some of the core
processes or identifying characteristics of a consumerist culture and explore their inevitable
implications for our understanding of God. Hence this argument has focused on exploring how the
three key concepts of commoditisation, privatisation and subjectivity fetishism inevitably affect the
way God is viewed within a consumerist culture.
The process of commoditisation sees God recast as a commodity to be bought and sold, where he is
worshipped by being consumed or possessed by spiritual consumers. A privatised, individualised
culture means an image of God who inevitably is supposed to be about fulfilling the needs of the
16
consumer, and whose identity is fragmented in order for individual consumers to choose the parts
they most prefer. Finally, a culture which embraces subjectivity fetishism is one in which God is a
commodity, and is entirely controllable by those who choose to worship him.
Within all three of these concepts, the end-product is a God who is ultimately about bringing self-
fulfilment and self-worth to each individual follower. So, whilst trying to build a contextual
understanding of a God who is intimately involved in the workings of a consumerist culture, it is clear
that any theological response must also be able to challenge or subvert that culture. This
understanding will form the basic premise for chapter three, where this dissertation moves on to
explore what a Christian community of young adults could look like which would provide a practical,
theological response to the consumerist culture in which it finds itself.
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Chapter 3: Christian Community in a

Consumerist Culture
This dissertation has set out to explore the implications of a consumerist culture on the forming and
shaping of Christian communities of emerging adults. So far, the key conceptual ideas which
characterise a consumerist culture have been expounded (chapter one), and then explored from a
theological perspective (chapter two). This final chapter aims to draw on this previous work in order
to demonstrate the key concerns which need to be addressed for Christian communities that find
themselves within a consumerist culture. Building on previous conceptual ideas, this final chapter
seeks to suggest how the practical running and shaping of Christian community is affected by
attempting to dwell within a wider consumerist culture.
Before attempting to highlight some practical implications for growing Christian communities within a
consumerist culture, there are some initial concerns which need to be set out.
Shaping Community and Culture

As stated in the introduction, this dissertation is concerned primarily with the forming and shaping of
Christian community. This means that whatever practical conclusions are reached, they should be
concerned with the functioning of communities of people, rather than with individuals. Because of this,
and because of the abstract nature of this dissertation, the conclusions reached will primarily be
concerned with the way in which a communal culture can be created or shaped by those involved in
Christian communities which addresses the implications of a wider consumerist culture.
Similarly, rather than making suggestions about specific areas of community life, these conclusions are
ventured as core values or ideas which will define the way a Christian community itself functions.
These core values can then be developed through ‘praxis’, that is, through the application of these core
values into the specific activities which take place in the mission and worship of a Christian
community of emerging adults.
Transcendence and Immanence

The primary question facing a Christian community which seeks to participate within a consumerist
culture, which has been raised thus far, is about whether to employ a strategy of transcendence or
immanence. That is, whether to choose to isolate itself from the wider culture in order to maintain an
alternative, transcendent culture; or to choose to participate fully within the culture, allowing itself to
become fully subject to the workings and processes of that culture. This same dilemma is also reflected
in a theological understanding of a God who is both transcendent and immanent, who exists entirely
18
above and beyond the limitations of human culture, and yet at the same time chooses to engage within
it, most evidently through the Incarnation.
The real negative of a strategy of absolute transcendence, or withdrawal, is that, whilst perhaps more
faithfully preserving Christian tradition and values, it dispenses with any ability for a Christian
community to engage with, or even engage in mission within, the culture around it. There are no
reference points for those involved in the community to make sense of, or understand, the culture
around them, and, of concern since we are exploring community with emerging adults, there is no way
for those individuals who are indigenous to a consumerist culture to make sense of their Christian
faith within it. This can lead to an understanding of faith which is privatised and compartmentalised,
where Christian belief becomes something for Christians to out in private and separate to the rest of
their lives. Concurrently, as previously mentioned, the main danger of a strategy of absolute
immanence, or accommodation, is that it means the Christian community allowing itself to become
entirely subject to the culture around it, and in the case of a consumerist culture, to face the danger of
complete dissolution into the sea of commodities of which it is comprised.
A successful solution then, to the problem of Christian community within a consumerist culture, will
take into account both ‘sides of the coin’, transcendence and immanence, and will hold some kind of
tension or relationship between the two. This tension between different values, I would argue, might
create a creative space for a Christian community of emerging adults to engage and interact with a
wider culture of consumerism in a way which is dynamic, and has the power to be relevant and
challenging to the culture around it, even perhaps to engage prophetically with it.
Critical Tensions
Based on the research and exploration allowed within this study, I would assert that there are three
critical dichotomies which create tension between Christian tradition and theology and the workings
of a consumerist culture. These are (1) the self vs. the other; (2) community vs. the individual; and (3)
objectivity vs. subjectivity. What follows is a description of each of these tensions, and suggestions for
how Christian communities of emerging adults might seek to engage with them and manage them
creatively.
1. The Self vs. the Other

The first dichotomy or tension, that must be addressed when forming Christian community, is a
tension between the ‘self’ and the ‘other’. As stated previously, a consumerist culture is one which is
inevitably focussed on the self. A highly individualised and commoditized culture results in a culture
where ‘the starting point of many has become my needs, my self-interest and my satisfaction.’
(Scotland, 2000, p.145). Yet this would seem to be contrary to the biblical ethics which lie at the heart
19
of Christianity about putting others first, and Jesus’ command to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’ (Mt
22:39 NIV), which advocates a subversive use of power based on service from below, rather than
giving commands or orders from above. So, somehow a Christian community seeking to live faithfully
within a consumerist culture must be able to deal with this tension between self-motivation and a
motivation for others.
This tension between the self and the other is also ultimately a tension between the desirable role of
consumer and the undesirable role of being the commodity, subject to the processes of
commoditisation and depersonalisation. Whilst to be a consumer is to utilise others in order to achieve
self-fulfilment, and to have the power to choose to publicly recognise or denounce others, to be a
commodity is the less desirable but unfortunately necessary role of being utilised by others, but with
the hope of achieving recognition and possession by others in the process as a valuable commodity
worth consuming. It is within this tension that the participants in a consumerist culture find
themselves, wanting to be able to consume, but unfortunately having to be consumed in order to
achieve self-fulfilment.
As previously argued, this deeply felt need for self-fulfilment or self-actualisation – that is, some kind
of life achievement which will result in happiness and contentment – is one of the key motivators at
the heart of a consumerist culture. This is an endless search for self-discovery, which seems to be
rarely actually achieved. As mentioned previously, however, whilst this fulfilment might be entirely
based on the self, it is still achieved through the recognition of, and association with, others. It is this
dislocation between the self and the other which needs to be addressed by any Christian community
which finds itself within a consumerist culture, re-establishing a healthy relationship between the
need for self-fulfilment and the need for compassion and interaction with others.
If, in a consumerist culture, self-fulfilment is still achieved through the recognition of being a
commodity worthy of possession by others, then perhaps it is through this mechanism that Christian
communities can intervene by cultivating a culture of acceptance based on some other motivation than
perceived value or worth. Maybe, for a Christian community of emerging adults, a healthy culture of
public recognition and possession should be developed where the motivation isn’t the value of the
individual being possessed, but instead a value which is placed on them as a child of God. Or perhaps
they could practice an inverse process, where possession and recognition of a person is asserted prior
to calculating their value to the community or to individuals within the community. Either way, in this
situation the role of the Christian community is to provide an alternative voice, which subverts the
value-based motivations of a consumerist culture, by ascribing value based on ‘being’ rather than
‘doing’, on an individual’s identity rather than their functionality. This value is ascribed based on God’s
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perspective and/or by asserting that the possession and recognition of the community are not
dependent on the personal achievement or value of the individual.
This same dichotomy between the self and other people can also be applied between the self and God.
The tension between an approach to God based on self-motivation and one based on self-giving needs
to be found, where God is perhaps understood in terms of being both commodity and consumer, as
well as being entirely above and beyond the restraints of culture, and worthy of worship for who he is,
not simply based on the individual dividends which may result from it. Whereas, for the participants in
a consumerist culture, there is a clear desire to be the consumer and to resist becoming a commodity
to be used by others, I would argue that for God the price of becoming a divine commodity is one he is
willing to pay in order to redeem and have relationship with his people. Based on this, the Incarnation,
crucifixion and resurrection could be re-contextualised to present an image of a God who places
himself entirely at the mercy of his people, to be entirely consumed of his life on the cross, but who
ultimately could not be limited or dissolved by the sea of commodities.
2. Community vs. the Individual

Two of the key de-stabling factors of a consumerist culture are a re-casting and breakdown of the
function and importance of interpersonal relationships, and at the same time a profound loss of a
sense of individual identity. An increasingly rapid process of individualisation, coupled with the
commoditisation of the individuals within a consumerist culture, means that people define their
identity much less by a sense of relationship to others, and much more in terms of their own personal
brand as a commodity. This breakdown of community and relationships was heralded by Margaret
Thatcher [ CITATION Tha87 \n \t \l 2057 ]:
…And who is society? There is no such thing. There are individual men and women, and
there are families… and people look to themselves first. It’s our duty to look after
ourselves and then also to help look after our neighbour.
The society we now find ourselves in, if it hasn’t already been dissolved entirely as Thatcher asserts, is
one which is highly individualised. However, this individualisation seemingly stands in opposition to
the process of commoditisation itself, where the individual’s own sense of identity is dissolved as they
find themselves as just one in a sea of other identical commodities.
It makes sense then that one of the key tensions that must be addressed, in forming and shaping
Christian communities within a consumerist culture, is a tension between an identity which is
constructed based on community, and a self-contained identity built primarily by the individual. Shane
Claiborne (2006, p.135) observes how increasingly attractive the notion of individualism has become:
21
For everything in this world tries to pull us away from community, pushes us to choose
ourselves over others, to choose independence over interdependence, to choose great
things over small things, to choose going fast alone over going far together.
Within a consumerist culture, the need for individuals to be privatised, self-contained commodities has
resulted in a culture where achievement and recognition is primarily for the individual rather than for
communities working together. However, the biblical narrative provides a very different
understanding, where, whilst individual stories are picked out, the primary focus of the narrative both
in the Old and New Testaments is on a community or a people group. Individuals are recognised
primarily for the role they played in a narrative for which the bigger picture is the story of God and his
people, either the people of Israel or the early church community. This is perhaps contrary to some
contemporary understandings of Christianity where faith is reduced simply to the relationship
between ‘me and God’.
Perhaps this relationship between individuals and the wider community found in the bible could form
a basis for a revised understanding of the relationship between the individuals found in a consumerist
culture and the communities of which they are a part. So often Christian community can become
nameless and faceless, becoming not unlike the sea of commodities explored earlier, where individuals
are ‘absorbed’ into the community at the cost of their own sense of identity. Christian communities
within a consumerist culture perhaps need to explore and understand what it means to be a
‘community of individuals’, where both shared, collective identity and individual identity and
achievement is celebrated; and where the relationship between the two is re-connected and re-
understood, and perhaps even redeemed through a new model of community.
Perhaps a theological starting point for this re-integration of community and the individual is with an
understanding of the Trinity. Boff (2000, p.64) describes the Trinity in these terms:
Each divine Person shares fully in the other two: in life, love and communion…
Although equal in sharing in life and love, each Person is distinct from the others… But
this distinction allows for communion and mutual self-giving. The Persons are distinct
so as to be able to give out of their wealth to the others and to form eternal communion
and divine community.
A theology of the Trinity presents a deeply stirring image of what Christian community could be, with
the ability to inspire and challenge. This image of perfect community also perhaps stirs up what is a
deep human need; perhaps one reason for the huge impact of ‘The Shack’ (Young, 2008), an
international bestselling work of ‘theological fiction’ which prominently presents God as Trinity.
In practice, for a Christian community of emerging adults, perhaps this would mean creating a
community culture which celebrates individual achievement, but also which actively encourages and
provides space for individual skills and gifts to be expressed within the life and worship of the
22
community. This utilisation of individual gifts, though, must happen in such a way that individual
identity can be expressed and showcased rather than identity being lost or absorbed into the wider
community’s identity. Perhaps a good metaphor to understand this would be that of a mosaic, where
brightly coloured and sometimes intricately designed tiles go together to create a rich and colourful
piece of art.
This kind of community creates an environment where individual identity is subject to collaboration
rather than competition, creating a cycle where individual identity enriches the shared identity of the
community, which then increases the value of the community itself for those who are ‘buying into’ it.
This creates a kind of ‘identity economy’ which links self-gain and self-giving, where the two feed into
one another. A balance between giving and receiving is created where each inevitably leads to the
other, and where individual identity inevitably informs the identity of the community and vice versa.
3. Objectivity vs. Subjectivity

The third dichotomy which Christian communities within a consumerist culture should address is
between objectivity and subjectivity, that is, a tension between an understanding of reality and society
as something which is subjective and something which is objective. As explored in chapters one and
two, a key concept within a consumerist culture, as observed by Bauman (2007, pp.17-20), is
subjectivity fetishism; that is, an obsession or fixation with an individual subjective reality which is
created and controlled by the individual. It is within this environment then that, in forming and
developing Christian community, the tension needs to be managed between a prevailing preference
for the subjective, and a need for some kind of shared, objective understanding of the nature of reality.
Berger and Luckmann [ CITATION Ber66 \n \t \l 2057 ], assert that a social understanding of reality
is constructed both subjectively, through individual interpretation and internalisation, and objectively,
through the externalisation of societal values and creation of structure. Whilst historically, Christian
communities have tended towards creating a very clear, objective understanding of reality through
techniques such as the conceptual systematising of theology, through to the creation of organisational
and even physical structures, and rigid ecclesiologies. This preference, towards what Berger and
Luckmann (1966, pp.65-109) describe as ‘institutionalization’ (sic), is something which is in
opposition to the prevailing preference within a consumerist culture towards subjectivity.
The concern of those involved in developing Christian communities of emerging adults within a
consumerist culture, then, should be how to relate a historical preference for objectivity to the cultural
preference for subjectivity, and indeed a mistrust of the objective or even ‘totalising’ nature of
institutionalisation. This requires a stance of both challenging the cultural norm which, as argued
previously in chapter two, clearly has its own limitations, and re-connecting it with an objective
23
approach to theology and ecclesiology which is trustworthy and has room within itself for
individuality, innovation and ultimately subjectivity.
So how could this tension, between objectivity and subjectivity, be worked out in a more practical
sense? In recent times, substantive theological effort has been put into a more organic or ‘liquid’
framework for ecclesiology [ CITATION War02 \t \l 2057 ]. Gibbs and Bolger (2006, pp.113-114) take
time to describe the ‘liquid church’ phenomenon. In the words of Ian Mobsby (2006 cited Gibbs &
Bolger, 2006, p.114), who was interviewed during their research, ‘“Fluid or liquid forms of church
reflect networks of people. As cultural expressions are now fluid and networked, place or geography
are far less important these days.”’ So, this flexible ecclesiology creates space for Christian
communities which are shaped by the subjective, for instance the individual availability,
understanding and preferences of their members.
This need to manage a tension between objectivity and subjectivity goes further than the shape and
organisation of the Christian community itself, though, to a need to address the way that community
affirms and constructs an understanding of God himself. There is a need to create space for the
subjective, personal theology of individuals, and to celebrate it, whilst at the same time creating a
structure which affirms a collective, more objective understanding of God. This collective theology
could be termed ‘orthodoxy’, drawing on the historical, theological understanding of the need for a
structure which presents collectively held, ‘right’ belief.
That structure, within itself, should also be able to pose a healthy challenge to subjective experiences
and opinions, perhaps through creating a stage for ‘free’ theological dialogue to take place, rather than
a form of restricted or prescriptive discussion which can often characterise Christian communities.
This way, each individual’s understanding can be challenged, and itself challenge the subjective
understandings of others, as well as at the same time informing a fluid, communal theological
understanding. There is a need, however, for this communal orthodoxy, as well as being multi-faceted,
to also be integrated rather than fragmented; with an understanding of individual parts making up a
whole picture rather than individual parts which are each independent and self-containing.
Summary
This concluding chapter has sought to present some key implications for creating and maintaining
Christian community in a consumerist culture. I have argued that the key question for Christian
communities is whether to pursue a strategy of transcendence/withdrawal, choosing to differentiate
itself from a consumerist culture, or of immanence/accommodation, choosing to absorb itself into the
culture. These two extremes are helpful, in that they enable us to understand engaging in a
24
consumerist culture to be about managing the tension between the seemingly incessant demands of
the prevailing culture, and the distinctiveness of the Christian narrative and tradition.
Drawing on this, this chapter has suggested three critical tensions which exist between Christian
tradition and the workings of a consumerist culture. Those tensions are between (1) the self and the
other, (2) community and the individual, and (3) an objective and subjective view of reality. In each
case, I have suggested some initial practical and theological resources for Christian communities of
emerging adults to draw on, when seeking to engage in the tension between a consumerist culture and
a historic faith tradition.
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Conclusion
Consumerism is quickly becoming the prevailing culture of the twenty-first century. Although Western
society seems to have been building towards this since the beginning of the twentieth century, it is the
current generation of emerging adults who most embody and exemplify what it means to be
indigenous to a consumerist culture. Smith and Snell (2009, p.67), amongst others, reach the same
conclusion that consumerism is part of the very identity of the current generation of emerging adults.
[Our] interviewers could not, no matter how hard they pushed, get emerging adults to
express any serious concerns about any aspect of mass-consumer materialism… There
should be no limits to what people might buy and own, and consuming products is
often a great source of satisfaction that helps to define ultimate goals in life.
This is the prevailing culture in which those seeking to grow and develop Christian community find
themselves, in particular those either specifically aimed at, or working with, emerging adults; and it is
the challenge of how to engage with and participate in this kind of culture which, I believe, will define a
new generation of Christian communities. Therefore, it is of vital importance that this culture is
studied by those seeking to undertake mission and ministry within it. Furthermore, a fuller
understanding needs to be developed of the theological implications of the concepts and processes
which define a consumerist culture, with a view to developing a greater practical awareness of the
specific challenges of forming and nurturing Christian communities within it. This dissertation has
been a brief, exploratory study concerned with the humble, but nevertheless important, beginnings of
that task.
1. Key Concepts
The starting point of this exploration was to begin to develop an understanding of the key processes
and conceptual ideas which characterise a consumerist culture. Drawing on the work of sociologist,
Zygmunt Bauman [ CITATION Bau07 \n \t \l 2057 ], chapter one was concerned with exploring three
key concepts at the heart of such a culture: commoditisation, privatisation and subjectivity fetishism.
The process of commoditization lies at the core of a consumerist culture, where goods, services, and
even people and elements of the culture itself, are recast as commodities to be bought and traded. For
those individuals who find themselves within such a culture, the only alternative to complete social
isolation is to allow themselves to become a commodity for others to ‘buy into’. However, this need to
be commoditised also creates the need to promote oneself as a commodity worth buying, in order to
achieve a sense of self-worth.
26
A second key concept, privatisation, relates to the breaking down of connections between the subjects
of a consumerist culture as they become commoditised. This process is expressed on a personal level
as individualisation, where the bonds between people are disconnected and dislocated as they are
reduced to simple consumer interactions between commodities. As the bonds which connect elements
are broken down the result is an abstraction of meaning [ CITATION Mil05 \t \l 2057 ], where
individuals, as commodities, are removed from their original context and instead forced to become
independent, self-contained commodities.
Finally, subjectivity fetishism is a concept which refers to the subjective reality which is created by the
consumer in order to gain some form of fulfilment from the consumerist system. In the absence of a
sense of connection or relationship with others, meaning is instead ascribed to consumer interactions
themselves. This subjectivity fetishism represents the ideology that the products we buy are more
than just simple commodities, but are able instead to make us into better people and bring us
fulfilment.
2. Theological Implications
Drawing on the framework created by the three concepts explored in chapter one, the next task was to
develop an understanding of the theological implications of those concepts. Whilst work has been
done to provide a theological critique of the values of a consumerist culture, the danger of a critique on
this level is that it only barely penetrates the surface of the complex workings of such a culture.
Therefore, this study set out to explore the implications of contextualising Christian belief within the
very workings and core functions of the culture itself described in chapter one.
It was asserted that within a consumerist culture, the main motivation for the religious believer is the
achievement of a sense of self-worth or self-fulfilment. The primary example of this is in the
commoditisation process itself, which not only affects people but also the very elements of culture,
including religion and spirituality. Therefore, within a consumerist culture, God himself can be recast
as a commodity to be consumed by his worshippers for their own self-fulfilment. However, God can
also be understood as a consumer within the consumerist system, where he can ascribe ultimate value
to his followers by choosing to consume them as commodities worth possessing.
Secondly, the process of privatisation results in the construction of a highly individualised God, also
affirming an understanding of a God who exists primarily for the fulfilment of the individual. As well as
this, a highly individualised culture means a God who is personalised to fit the experience and
understanding of each individual. Finally, the concept of subjectivity fetishism allows for an
understanding of a God who is subjective to each person’s understanding, allowing each individual to
have control over their own ‘image’ of God.
27
It is obvious that these implications of a God who is contextualised within a consumerist culture look
very different to an understanding of God which is traditionally understood within orthodox Christian
theology. This raises an important, but difficult, challenge for Christian communities seeking to engage
with such a culture. Do they choose to attempt to isolate themselves from the culture, choosing instead
to assert an understanding of a God who transcends culture, or should they choose to participate fully
in the culture, but in the process allow their understanding of an immanent God to become subject to
the full workings of that culture?
3. Critical Tensions
The final stage of this dissertation, in chapter three, attempted to sketch out more fully the challenge
which faces those attempting to form Christian communities within a consumerist culture amongst
emerging adults. This would mean to suggest some possible solutions, or ways to manage the tension
between a strategy of immanence/accommodation and a strategy of transcendence/withdrawal. The
result was to suggest three critical tensions – dichotomies which were found to exist between
Christian tradition and theology and the key concepts of a consumerist culture.
These three tensions are between (1) the self and the other, (2) community and the individual, and (3)
objectivity and subjectivity. Firstly, the tension needs to be managed between a desire for self-
actualisation and self-fulfilment, and the need to have compassion and fulfilment found in putting
others first. Within this tension, both other individuals and God could comprise the ‘other’.
Secondly, a tension exists which needs to be resolved between a shared community identity and the
affirmation and encouragement of individual identity. This means cultivating a community identity
which is shaped and moulded by the individualised contributions of each member, somewhat like a
mosaic where each small tile makes up the whole, complete picture. Finally, consideration needs to be
given to the tension between an objective understanding of reality, routed in accepted structures and
externalised values, and a subjective understanding of reality, which is subject to the perspective and
experience of individuals. Managing this tension has implications for the way the structures and values
of Christian communities are expressed, as well as for the way the community’s theology is
constructed and produced.
Final Thoughts
Although limited by the bounds of an undergraduate dissertation, this study has sought to begin the
task of understanding the place of Christian community within a consumerist culture, particularly
amongst an emerging generation of young adults. Whilst the concepts and ideas which have been
explored could easily have been taken further and subjected to more intense theological examination,
what is presented in this piece of work is a starting point from which to begin to understand the
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implications of pursuing Christian community in a culture which is highly alien compared to the
context in which earlier Christian communities emerged.
On a personal level, the conclusions reached here will fuel and inspire future study and in particular
will affect my own work attempting to form and shape community with emerging adults. In addition to
this, I believe that there are also implications raised within this dissertation for others who are
involved in shaping Christian faith and practice in the future, who are involved in work with young
people, or who are involved in community development work within a highly individualised,
consumerist culture such as, I believe, the context in which we find ourselves in the UK.
29
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32

Christian Community in A Consumerist Culture - James Henley

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Christian Community in A Consumerist Culture - James Henley

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James Henley

This dissertation attempts to explore the implications of a

Finally, three key tensions are discussed, which those seeking to

Chapter 1: A Consumerist Culture..............................................................5

Chapter 2: Theological Implications.......................................................11

Chapter 3: Christian Community in a Consumerist Culture..........18

Personal Perspective and Context

Chapter 1: A Consumerist Culture

[People] are enticed, nudged, or forced to promote an attractive and

They are, simultaneously, promoters of commodities and the commodities they promote.

Promoters & Commodities

The Commoditisation of Culture

Abstraction and Fragmentation of Meaning

interactions between consumers and commodities. So it is those consumer-commodity interactions

Relationships and the Search for Belonging

Chapter 2: Theological Implications

The Dangers of a Value-based Critique

1. The Commoditisation of God

Commoditisation and Contextualisation

The Abstraction of Meaning

increasingly unintelligible to modern believers. This task is… essentially one of

3. God and Subjectivity Fetishism

Moving Forward: The Art of Subversion

Chapter 3: Christian Community in a

Shaping Community and Culture

Transcendence and Immanence

1. The Self vs. the Other

2. Community vs. the Individual

3. Objectivity vs. Subjectivity

BAUMAN, Z., 2001. Community. Polity Press: Cambridge.

BAUMAN, Z., 2007. Consuming Life. Cambridge: Polity Press.

BEAUDOIN, T., 2003. Consuming Faith. Lanham: Sheed & Ward.

BOSCH, D. J., 1991. Transforming Mission. New York: Orbis.

CLAIBORNE, S., 2006. The Irresistible Revolution. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

KELLY, J., 2003. Consumerism. Cambridge: Grove Books.

KLEIN, N., 2000. No Logo. London: Flamingo.

MURRAY, S., 2004. Post-Christendom. Milton Keynes: Paternoster.

TOMLIN, G., 2002. The Provocative Church. London: SPCK.

WARD, P., 2002. Liquid Church. Carlisle: Paternoster.

WRIGHT, C.J., 2006. The Mission of God. Nottingham: Inter-Varsity Press.

YOUNG, W.P., 2008. The Shack. London: Hodder & Stoughton.

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