Many Christians like to celebrate Jesus at church, in their home, or quietly in their hearts. But more and more Chrisitians are realizing that Jesus can be spelled Je$u$. After all this is America, the Christian capital of the world. And what better way to celebrate the son of God than by selling him out.
As of 2004, the Christian retail market was worth $4.3 billion and growing strong. The list of Christian products is staggering. There’s everything from the typical books, CDs, greeting cards, t-shirts to the more exotic like Virtuous Woman, a Christian perfume. Going to the beach this summer, well go ahead and leave you mark in the sand with a pair of "Follow the Son" flip-flops that leave the message "Follow Jesus" in the sand. Going golfing? Then go in style with Gosphel Golf Balls by Top-Flight. Each ball has a well-known verse from the bible enscribed on it. Here’s one I bet you won’t find though…
Matthew 19:24: I say it again–it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!"
The list goes on and on, but quite frankly I find it sad. From my studies of Christ that I painfully endured for 8 years at Catholic school, I don’t believe this type of behavior would be acceptable. As an Agnostic now, I don’t really care. But you Christians should be furious. This commercialism cheapens your faith and reduces it to nothing more than marketing gimmick and a fad.
And please don’t say that it’s just a small number of Christians either. It takes a lot of Christians to come up with the $4.3 billion in sales. This is widespread and growing rapidly. In the short term, it seems rather harmless. But in the long term, this selling out of you’re faith will only cause you grief.
Got an opinion on this? Well then share it with us!
Thanks to Itanshi for pointing out this story!
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July 21st, 2006 at 12:43 pm
heh nice graphic there, got another one i saw on Fark, but this one was still better. It’s on about schools and religious hollidays. Heh, you kind of run out of school days if you listen to them all, what a fuss.
July 21st, 2006 at 2:16 pm
Hmm. Quick googling turns up the fact that there are estimated to be around 225 million in the US who claim to be Christians, in some sense of the word. That measn that, on average, the “$4.3 billion a year” market works out to less than $20 per Christian in the US.
Of that 4.3 billion, it seems like at least 1.3 billion is directly attributable to book sales (see http://www.marketingymedios.com/marketingymedios/search/article_display.jsp?schema=&vnu_content_id=1000902244). Taking that out of the equation, we’re left with just slightly more than $13/year per Christian.
Not all that bad, if you ask me. For a family of five, that comes to… a couple of CDs and a couple of kid’s videos. Watch out for that rampant consumerism, there.
Seriously, I’ve been hearing about the “Christian” market for years, and I’ve never seen it go much of anywhere. Probably precisely because most of the folks who sell “Chrstian” tchotkes are doing nothing more than slapping a verse on some random junk, salivating at the idea of fleecing gobs of money from undiscerning idiots.
On the one hand, it pains me to know that there *are* such undiscerning Christians out there - otherwise, these guys would have *no* market whatsoever. However, it does reassure me to see that it looks as if the total market for “baptized” junk (as opposed to books, music and videos) is relatively miniscule.
July 21st, 2006 at 3:13 pm
fair enough, thanks for the perspective
July 21st, 2006 at 6:47 pm
Reading the LA Times article, I remembered the first time I saw all the postcards with punk rockers, usually in a giving-the-finger(s) pose, all over the tourist traps in London in the early nineties.
My immediate thought was “Man, punk rock isn’t just dead, it’s smelling bad too”.
I can’t help but see some parallels - it’s now trendy to be Christian, at least in the US.
On another note, from the article about the Virtuous Woman perfume:
“It should be enticing enough to provoke questions: ‘What’s that you’re wearing?’ ” Hobbs said. “Then you take that opportunity to speak of your faith. They’ve opened the door, and now they’re going to get it.”
- It’s Virtuous Woman, my Christian perfume.
- Wow, cool! Is it based on Mary Magdalene’s perfume? No wonder Jesus fell for her!
July 21st, 2006 at 10:35 pm
I love your blog. I’m adding you to my blogroll at my new site. I hope you don’t mind.
July 22nd, 2006 at 3:00 am
“I can’t help but see some parallels - it’s now trendy to be Christian, at least in the US.”
Trendy to be Christian? Are you kidding? Where in the US do you live? Maybe I just spend too much time in major metropolitan areas, but I just don’t see it. Is is NOT cool to talk about Jesus or anything like that in public.
$4.3 billion dollars in sales = Lots of people *paying* to look like dorks in public. I should print up my own T-shirt that says “Dorks for Christ.”
That isn’t to say that all Christians are dorks. Or that anyone should be ashamed of their beliefs. It is just that some of that crap is really friekin’ corny.
July 22nd, 2006 at 5:24 am
I like the little Jesus and Mary figurines. I wonder what would happen if I grabbed one and played with it in the street with some plastic soldier men or something…
July 22nd, 2006 at 12:18 pm
They could open a christian casino while they’re at it :)
July 22nd, 2006 at 12:38 pm
No, that wouldn’t work. Everyone would bet on Jesus and when his number didn’t come up, people would start to lose faith. And if the casino fixed it so that betting on Jesus always won, they wouldn’t make any money.
July 22nd, 2006 at 4:23 pm
I made a shirt that sellabrates Jesus. The state of things is really depressing. Hopefully people will start to see how ridiculous it’s become.
July 22nd, 2006 at 8:42 pm
Is it just me or is this NOT suprising in the least? Milking the religious cow has ALWAYS been a lucrative undertaking, and it’s one of the things you ought to expect from a religion that blatantly states that it’s good to be like sheep.
July 22nd, 2006 at 11:58 pm
It isn’t about how much money christians are paying to feel holy and righteous that should be going to the poor according to their savior.
It is about how much money people are making off of it. It’s about how Christianity is becoming a big buisness and fad. Christianity is -in-. There are people out on the street shouting out about being saved by Jesus when their views have nothing to do with what Jesus taught. If people actually read the New Testament, they’d realize that all these rich screw-the-poor, kill-the-gays, fight-in-war types are all pretty far from what Jesus preached. But no, why actually follow Christian principles when you can just have them carved into your golfballs or sandals?
People aren’t Christian to be spiritually fullfilled or because it’s forced on them anymore. Christianity is what all the “cool” grown-ups do. The only time it isn’t accepted is when it is taken to nutty extremes (and even then it sometimes is).
July 23rd, 2006 at 3:38 pm
I have to admit, being a Christian I certainly have contributed to the Christians making money. Buying CDs, and the Veggie Tales movies, I’m not even sure of the total amount I have spent on these items! My nieces and nephews love them and I have them for my kids one day.
You’re also very right, it’s not just a few Christians. Many know exactly how to make money off of the religion. But I will point out it’s not only Christians that do this. I do believe we are the biggest one though. Followed possibly by Mormons, whom I don’t consider part of my sect even though they do.
July 23rd, 2006 at 3:45 pm
At least most of that money $4.3 billion is going towards T-shirts and not indulgences…
July 24th, 2006 at 8:19 am
“flip-flops that leave the message “Follow Jesus” in the sand.”
hmm, why do I suddenly feel like I should go make some of my own, except with different messages…
The point isn’t who is paying how much, the point is who is GETTING how much. I wonder what the 4.3 billion (which is 4,300,000,000 dollar) is being spend on. somehow I doubt it’s going to the poor.
I also doubt the people who get the 4.3 billion:
“have finished paying the complete tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and the widow,” Deut. 26:12.
July 24th, 2006 at 9:29 am
“The list goes on and on, but quite frankly I find it sad. From my studies of Christ that I painfully endured for 8 years at Catholic school, I don’t believe this type of behavior would be acceptable. As an Agnostic now, I don’t really care. But you Christians should be furious. This commercialism cheapens your faith and reduces it to nothing more than marketing gimmick and a fad.”
You’re right. And as a christian, I hate this crap.
I have no problem with having stores that sell religious stuff, such as music, church literature, or bibles. What I have a problem with is those same stores selling crap like “Testamints.” TESTAMINTS for crying out loud! Who the hell decided that the current mints of the world were too secular?! That doesn’t even make sense!
Non-christian: Man, I really hate Jesus.
Me: What if I gave you this mint with a cross on it?
Non-christian: That would change everything.
Me: *gives Non-chrisitan the mint*
Non-christian: Mmm…this is tasty. It fills my mouth with minty freshness and my heart with Jesus. I think I’ll be a missionary now.
Me: Thank you, Testamints!
Grrr…
July 24th, 2006 at 5:11 pm
>> This commercialism cheapens your faith and reduces it to nothing more than marketing gimmick and a fad.
You say that like it’s a bad thing….
July 25th, 2006 at 9:49 am
So, just one question : Do any of those merchants sell T-shirts with a picture of Jesus throwing the merchants out of the temple?
July 25th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
You have to realise that its about balence. You have to look at the alternative to each product. Buying a veggitales video for your kids is not crass. If you feel its a better message for your kids htan say bob the builder then what’s the problem? If you buy a christian rock cd instead of 50 cent, is buying the 50 cent album supposed to make anything better? you can’t legitamitly raise this point unless you point out the broader consumeristic epidemic thats going on in the country. the turth is, ALL AMERICANS regardless of their religeous affiliation spend way too much money on CRAP they couldn’t posibly have a legitimate need for.
July 26th, 2006 at 4:13 pm
Does the 4.3 billion USD figure include sarcastic Christian items? I recently saw a toaster that would burn the image of the Virgin Mary onto your toast for you every morning. Then there are the WWJD condoms, underwear, shot glasses, etc.
September 7th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
i think everyones missing the point. i live in the UK, where it is definately NOT trendy to be christian. in fact, when i wore by HOPE 08 sweater to school one day, i left with a black eye, a nearly fractered rib and only half a head of hair. what did i do the next day, i did the same, but this time, i left jst as i arrived. and to top it off, that week someone from my school turned up at the local church. the whole point of these things is to spread the word, and that is what it does. and really, people commenting on ‘where is the money going?- not to the poor’? where the hell is the money from ur primark t- shirts and nike trainers going? no to the poor, i’ll bet
September 7th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
What the hell sort of half-ass argument is that? It’s the Christians who are the bleeding hearts always trying to save the starving pygmies in Ethiopia, not the capitalist. You’re trying to compare the special needs kids to the gifted and talented ones. They are on two completely different levels with completely different agendas.
September 16th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Hey what do you expect it is after all America, I knew what was up when I seen that some of the churches here in new your has a gift shop and are planning to open a Mc Donald’s. Yes the church has become a business; I was discussing this same issue with some of my buddies the other day.
September 16th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Indeed, religion in America is a very profitable business. Religions should have to follow business laws and pay taxes. It’s high time for the mainstream to stop regarding religion as being above the law and above reasoned criticism.
Unfortunately for Christianity, that eventuality would leave it liable for criminal conviction for false advertising ;-), and far worse crimes that Christianity Inc. has committed.
No miracle has ever been proven. No prayer has ever been answered. Religion is ridiculous.