Beaudoin's first book, Virtual Faith, alerted many readers to the 30-something Catholic's gift for language, appreciation of material culture's spiritual significance and theological acumen. In this book he turns his attention to a topic he confesses he had previously overlooked: the role of economics in the branded world in which young people live, move and have their being. The book begins with a humorous and unsettling account of the author's attempt to find out who, precisely, had made the contents of his clothes closet. Corporations that expended countless sums on building their brands, Beaudoin discovered, are not eager to reveal where, by whom and under what working conditions their products are manufactured. Borrowing from Naomi Klein's No Logo and the spiritual disciplines of Ignatius, this book proposes an "economic spirituality." Beaudoin can be brilliant, as when he retells Jesus' parable of the rich man and Lazarus as a warning for modern consumers. But he can also indulge in flights of postmodern theological abstraction, and a final, somewhat haphazard chapter of relatively practical suggestions bears only a tenuous relationship to his earlier theorizing. Still, Beaudoin has once again put an understudied topic on the Christian agenda, which is more than enough reason to plow through the woolly parts and wrestle with consumerism's challenge to anyone who, like the author, is "trying to become a Christian."
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[
Consuming Faith] may play a critical role in helping to shape the theological agenda...In an accessible style sure to have wide appeal, Tom Beaudoin argues for an economic spirituality. Beaudoin helps us understand how the modern economy shapes our imaginations and elicits our commitments. (
Christian Century )
Economic spirituality? Yes, of course. And now with
Consuming Faith, we have an examination of conscience about what we wear, eat and watch. You'll never look at a logo in quite the same way again. (Wilkes, Paul )
Consuming Faith has the great merit to offer paths towards a realistic spirituality for our consumer society—far from naiveté, moralizing, or demonizing. Tom Beaudoin's call for a responsible attitude in buying and consuming is rooted in his deep concern for the inalienable dignity of all human beings which transcends all economic categories. Although Beaudoin calls for a "spiritual indifference to numbers," I wish his new book a large sales success! (Professor Hans Küng )
Over the past ten years, writers of faith have reengaged the ancient question of God and Mammon, what is owed God and what is owed to Rome. From Harvey Cox and Ron Sider, to Robert Wuthnow and Jim Wallis, the pressing questions are not only about the just distribution of income and wealth, but the impact of pervasive consumerism on human identity and relations. Tom Beaudoin has advanced that debate with a profound yet accessible reflection on our "branded" culture and the alternatives available to it.
Consuming Faith invites us to live life anew, freed of the golden chains which hold so many prisoners. This is a timely, compelling book that deserves a wide audience and debate. (Richard Parker )
Mr. Beaudoin deals honestly with the nasty little secret behind the branding culture. Although Mr. Beaudoin is critical of the economic strategies corporations adopt to remain competitive, this is not an anti-corporation rant. It is a call to faithful living in North America. (
Dallas Morning News )
A hard-hitting and ethically provocative book that deserves a wide-reading. (
Spirituality and Health )
In an age of increasing globalization, where a purchase puts one in contact with people from China to El Salvador (a truly
catholic experience),
Consuming Faith calls us to a greater sense of awareness and responsibility as to what we buy and consume. (
St. Anthony's Messenger )
He does help the reader understand the theological and ethical issues involved in the disconnect between those who make the products and those who consume them. (
Patriot News )
Beaudoin's first book,
Virtual Faith, alerted many readers to the 30-something Catholic's gift for language, appreciation of material culture's spiritual significance and theological acumen. In this book he turns his attention to a topic he confesses he had previously overlooked: the role of economics in the branded world in which young people live, move and have their being...Beaudoin has once again put an understudied topic on the Christian agenda. (
Publishers Weekly )
The author makes an irrefutable case for how economic choices are part of everyday spirituality. (
Horizons: The Magazine For Presbyterian Women )
This book must be read by those who work with anyone 18 to 38 years old, anyone who has been raised in a branded culture like ours. (Father Mark G. Boyer
Priest )
Beaudoin seems to be finding his own true voice in some of these pages. (D. Seiple
Journal Of American Academy Of Religion )
Consuming Faith is a provocative look into the role that definitive faith can and should play in the realm of finances and consumerism. (Eric Hurtgen
Relevant Magazine )
