The Religion of Consumerism

Paper Summary:

This paper compares the religion of the Lakota Indians to the religion of consumerism. The paper notes that the Lakota Indians lived, and still do live, simple lives whose religion focuses on the connection to nature. In contrast, the religion of today, or consumerism, holds that the purpose of life is to consume as much as possible, at all costs. This paper particularly looks at how the religious traditions of the Lakota are about learning how to live as one with nature. Whereas, in consumerism, instead of seeking happiness through spiritual betterment, consumerism simply allows one to purchase happiness.

Outline:
1. What does it mean to be human?
2. What is the basic human problem?
3. What is the cause of the problem?
4. What is the end or goal of transformation?
5. What are the means of transformation?
6. What is the nature of reality?
7. What is the sacred and how may the sacred be known?

From the Paper:

"The cause of the problem is that the religion of consumerism has taken human outside the traditional cycles of good and bad, birth and death, and harmony versus disharmony. By contrast, consumerism simply creates the problem of "what don't I have that I should have". Unlike other religions, which create a connection to either nature (Lakota) or a divine being, consumerism makes a connection between the individual and the artificial. Instead of seeking happiness through spiritual betterment, consumerism simply allows one to purchase happiness. The result is the problem: that humans loose the connection to what it means to be human. Instead consumerism creates a new definition of what it means to be human, an artificial meaning that simply defines being human with being a consumer."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Barber, Benjamin. Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilze Adults and Swallow Citizens Whole. New York: Random House, 2007.
• Christafferson, Dennis M. Handbook of North American Indians: Plains. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 2001.
• Cohen, Deborah. Household Gods: The British and their Possessions. Yale: Yale University Press, 2006.
• Talen, William. What Would Jesus Buy. New York: Perseus Publishing, 2007.

More papers on The Religion of Consumerism:

• Research Paper # 102968 : "The Dynamics of Christianity around the World"
• Comparison Essay # 117444 : "Consumerism Vs. the Lakota Religion"
• Persuasive Essay # 101923 : "Television and Consumerism"

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