Commodification<\/p>\n
I must admit, I had no idea what commodification meant. I liked the sound of it but had no idea how to use it in a sentence. So, of course, I looked it up. Commodification the act or fact of turning something into an item that can be bought and sold.(1) If I understand this correctly, which I\u2019m not sure that I do, the Christian t-shirt industry may qualify as an example of commodification. I feel like I\u2019ve contributed to this in so many ways. I have so many shirts and I feel a bit compelled to share a few of the messages. A few of my favorites are I left it all in the water, I am voting for Jesus, I did my best and God did the rest, All I want is to love Jesus and take naps, and my all-time favorite\u2026I am half holy and half hood. I have participated in turning Christianity into a product. Although my intentions were not capitalist, I have been participatory in the commodification of Christianity. I have been an active consumer. It is a growing industry. Here are a few t-shirt industry facts:
\n \u2022 Revenue in the U.S. T-Shirts segment was US $5.04bn in 2022. The market is expected to grow annually by 3.97% (Statista)
\n \u2022 The custom t-shirt printing market was valued at $812.7m in 2021, and has a 10.1 % expected compound annual growth rate
\n from 2022-2030 (Grand View Research)
\n \u2022 Over 2,000 million (2 billion) t-shirts are sold every year (Credence Research)(2)<\/p>\n
While I do not have the specific statistics on sales from Christian t-shirts alone, I found that \u201cIn America, this Christian clothing industry has a total sale of more than $4.5 billion every year.\u201d(3) The branding and marketing of Christianity in the clothing industry is quite lucrative. <\/p>\n
Consumption<\/p>\n
In Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture, Vincent Jude Miller writes about the changes in advertising and how it has impacted consumption. Miller writes, \u201cEarly advertising emphasized the usefulness of the object. It elicited desire by fitting the product in to the consumer\u2019s already constituted world.\u201d(4) The focus on the product and how it fits into your life, a practical way appeal to the necessities of life. Yet, \u201ctwentieth-century advertising emphasized not the life of the consumer but the \u201cimaginary lives\u201d of the products themselves.\u201d(5) As we fast forward to the twenty-first century, advertising and marketing have moved beyond promoting the usefulness of the product and portraying the imaginary lives of the products. Advertising and Consumerism in this century has global reach with the aid of technology and digital platforms. Consumers can have real time access to images, messages, and perks. <\/p>\n
Influencing Consumers<\/p>\n
Currently social media, Influencers, and Corporate Sponsored Messages are a major driving force in consumption of products. When I think back to my childhood, advertising relied heavily on jingles, some of that I still sing today. For example, the McDonalds Big Mac Jingle, \u201cTwo all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.\u201d, I used to sing it every time we pulled up to the drive thru. I remember very few images from those commercials, but I remember the song. The jingle focused on the product and the quality of the ingredients. I wanted it based on what it was on how it was made. Today I couldn\u2019t tell you what jingles or music that McDonald\u2019s uses in advertising, but I do know that Cardi B. curated a meal deal and at one point so did Travis Scott. How do I know this? Well, my kids told me, and we bought each meal based on who was promoting it. Miller offers useful insight, he states, \u201cconsumption is transformed into an \u201cimaginary\u201d act. People are no longer primarily interested in the goods themselves, but in their images.\u201d(6) It really didn\u2019t matter what the meal deal was, it was important that these celebrities curated the meal. I believe that Miller would explain this as \u201cConsumption becomes an imaginary activity whose object is the advertisement as much as the product itself.\u201d(7) <\/p>\n
Church Perks<\/p>\n
I wonder how many Church goers are influenced by advertising. In Texas, the land of the Mega-Church, there are so many commercials, billboards, radio spots, and mailers inviting you to attend Church. I am taking a few liberties but here are a few examples that I have created, \u201cCome Join us, we have 2 Saturday Services and 3 Sunday Services!\u201d, \u201cCome Worship with us, you will receive a Starbucks gift card on your first visit!\u201d, \u201cCome to our Worship Service, God is Waiting on you!\u201d, \u201cIf you are concerned about parking, Valet Parking is available!\u201d. I wonder if this is actually what it takes to help fill the pews. As I consider these advertising methods, I hold these questions:
\nDo we have to entice people to attend?
\nHow far will we go?
\nHow far is too far?
\nCan we even see the line?
\nI sincerely pray that when it relates to religion, we lean into the usefulness of the experience and not on the novelty of it. <\/p>\n
1.Dictionary.com, accessed October 21, 2023, http:\/\/www.dictionary.com\/.
\n2.Bryan Robinson, \u201c35 T-Shirt Industry Statistics (2023),\u201d TshirtGrowth, May 16, 2023, https:\/\/tshirtgrowth.com\/t-shirt-industry-statistics\/.
\n3.www.fibre2fashion.com, \u201cChristian Clothing Becoming the Latest Fashion in US,\u201d Fibre2Fashion, accessed October 25, 2023, https:\/\/www.fibre2fashion.com\/industry-article\/2902\/christian-clothing-becoming-the-latest-fashion-in-us.
\n4.Vincent Jude Miller, Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture (New York: Bloomsbury, 2013), 57.
\n5.Ibid.,57.
\n6.Ibid.,57.
\n7.Ibid.,57.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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