Deep down, I've avoided participating in things like environmentalism, simple living, fair trade, intentional buying practices, etc. because I've felt that it was too overwhelming. If I cared about it a little then I'd have to do lots of things and change everything about my consumption practices and that would take way too much energy. I've pushed myself to do a few things, but for the most part I block out the reasoning that these things are important.
Well I read a book called Consuming Religion by Vincent Miller. In it he talks very concretely about tactics we can do to counter the habits that Consumer Culture forms in us and that we inadvertently take into Religion (which tends to weaken religion). He said that simply unmasking these habits is a good and helpful thing. He goes on to say that simply taking one item you consume and trying to find out its origins helps combat the abstraction from the roots of something and its production that consumerism promotes.
This was hopeful for me! I don't have to do everything to make a difference for at least me. I don't have to change the environment and society for my actions to matter.
So why does this matter to religion? Well we have a tendency to abstract our religious symbols, actions, and more from the complex relationships that they have. So our symbols only matter in how they relate to me, and we miss out on the fullness of their meaning which ties our faith together. By treating objects we consume at more than just the surface consumption level, we remind ourselves that all things have frequently unexplored depth that is important.
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