Selling God Summary

R. Laurence Moore wrote a book about the United States cultural history and titled it Selling God: American Religion in the Marketplace of Culture. Moore discusses how religion has been involved in American culture from the eighteen hundreds to present day America. He talks about the marketplace and how religion has inevitably played a role in it. He gives the reader a number of examples on how religion became a commodity in America. Saying how beforehand religious leaders and organizations turned sinful activities specified by the Bible to not partake in into wholesome fun. Over the course of American history, secular activities that people found enjoyable would receive religious alternatives to make them now moral. What he is saying is an accurate account as to what has happened to religion over time. The church has been shaped and also played a role in shaping America’s market culture. Moore’s thesis more or less is that secularization …show more content…
By the ending of his book he concludes that the commodification of religion has been effective in reaching a larger amount of people across the country and has been able to remain popular. But at what cost is this achieved? Things have changed such as the authority of the Bible, the Holy Spirit, and the churches stance on divorce, adultery, cohabitation, and homosexuality. Moore asks, "Where are the real religious prophets? Can there be any in a country whose self-image relies on fast, friendly, and guiltless consumption?" The author is right but also wrong not all churches have sold out, many have not altered the original bible sayings and there are many followers in America who do accept Christianity with all of its inconveniences. Selling God was well written and gave a great history of how religion in America has changed and survived in modern day