Publication Date
Spring 4-2023
School
School of Divinity
Major
Pastoral Leadership
Keywords
Christianity, Evangelicalism, Church Membership, Consumerism
Disciplines
Christian Denominations and Sects | Christianity | Liturgy and Worship
Recommended Citation
Mumau, Nathaniel, "The Intersection of Consumerism and the View of the Christian Church in American Evangelicalism" (2023). Senior Honors Theses. 1268.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/honors/1268
Abstract
American Evangelicalism is a religious category that describes a wide variety of Christian denominations and their churches in the United States of America. Church attendance overall has declined, and rates of church membership have plummeted even faster. At the heart of this issue is a misunderstanding of the role the local church is meant to play in the lives of Christians. In modern American society, consumerism is essential to every part of living and thus has confounded the view of the church in the lives of evangelical Christians. The church is viewed as a product to be experienced and at the customer’s, a perception that is exasperated by the language and philosophies of church leaders. In this thesis, the history of the Evangelicalism and consumerism in America will be examined, and their current intersection will be addressed. This will be followed by an explanation of the biblical view of church participation and the implications of consumerism’s embrace by church leaders and churchgoers.
Included in
Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Christianity Commons, Liturgy and Worship Commons
