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Selling God: American Religion in the Marketplace of Culture

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In his book, Selling God, author R. Laurence Moore contends that religion has used the marketplace as a means to support its goals. He claims that religious establishments were forced to use the market to retain their power. Without the "selling" of God, Moore claims that various Christian denominations would have died out or at least become less potent in America. That is to say, without the commodification of religious ideals, religion would not be able to sustain itself on principle alone, says Moore. Although Moore uses a great deal of wit in depicting his various examples of religious commodification, it is quite clear that his humor is to be taken with dead seriousness. While poking fun at the extravagance of many commodifications, Moore shows that the last two centuries of American Christianity have been spiritually and monetarily profitable.

Moore begins his argument by depicting the vast consumption of graphic novels in the early 19th century as America's first taste of non-religious themes. American's were buying novels which displayed acts of "moral" depravity (i.e. sex and violence), says Moore. The Protestant community quickly realized, he says, that people were reading more of these types of books than the Bible. It is then, he states, that the religious ministers and institutions realized that it would take an exercise in capitalism to support their authority. Books were quickly issued to counter this moral depravity by way of moral depiction. Novels now boasted spiritual uplift by depicting sex and violence with a moral message. It is with this process of condemnation reinvented into religious commodification that Moore claims fed Protestant life in America.

Throughout most of the book, Moore gives endless examples of how America turned "sinful" secular activities into "wholesome" fun. It was obvious, says Moore, that Americans were desperate to break free from the Protestant Work Ethic, and thus seek out this thing called "fun" in the secular sphere. From books, to plays, to tent revivals, to mass media, Moore describes how American Protestant Christianity sought to fill a void it could not fill with Bible and sermon alone. Circus-like revivals, for example, filled the need for people to let loose while simultaneously gaining spiritual information, says Moore. The people were allowed, he says, to maintain their protestant work ethic while having fun at the same time. This seems to be a recurring theme in religious America, he writes. The fact that American's generally hated to participate in any leisure activity that did not simultaneously produce something, says Moore, caused the most turbulence. He states that books could not be graphic unless there was a moral to the story. Carnivals could not exist solely for the purpose of leisure, says Moore, they must be reinvented into something spiritually uplifting like a revival.

However, not all religious leaders and institutions where so weary of having too much fun intermingle with their religious life, says Moore. He depicts the prime example of the Mormon president Brigham Young. Instead of condemning and retooling secular fun, states Moore, he fostered the idea that life and its joys are an integral part of religious life. Moore points out, however, that Brigham Young had the benefit of a compact community that could easily be monitored. Other ministers were catching on to the religious fun craze as well, says Moore. Frederick Sawyer, for example, wrote in his book, A Plead for Amusements, "Religion must enter the common life and cease to be gloomy." Pastor James Leonard Corning also urged religious communities to not be so fearful of "mirthful recreation" and to pursue fun as a part of religious life.

It is not clear, however, as to whether religion has influenced the market economy, or the market economy has influenced religion. Moore speculates on this phenomenon, which may in fact have no direct answer. Moore's numerous examples of commodification give us an idea that the marketplace is a neutral entity prepared to sell anything: including religion. That is to say, Moore depicts religion as a commodity that needs to be sold in order to survive.

Overall, Moore's book gives a good generalization of how religion has been forced to sell itself as a commodity. In comparison to his other book, The Godless Constitution, Moore expands on how religion flourished within American culture. In The Godless Constitution, Moore depicts how America should have handled religion. That is to say, America should have provided a greater separation between religion and the other spheres of secular life. In Selling God, Moore depicts what did happen to America concerning religion. Throughout his book, he has built up an effective argument that frames American Protestant religion as being permanently attached to the market economy. Moore does question, however, whether or not this commodification has been entirely degrading to religion. He notes that this commodification has enabled religion to reach a broader audience as well as contribute to solving social ills. The question is then, has the commodification of religion diminished its "spiritual effectiveness"? Moore does not entertain this notion entirely, but leaves this to the reader. In some respects, yes, religion's inability to sustain itself outside of the market creates a level of accessibility only to those who can afford it. But on the other hand, commodification has been able to reach more people through marketing as well as address social ills as Moore has stated. On the whole, Selling God was very insightful and thought provoking, giving numerous examples of the commodification of religion in America.