“Jesus warned his followers that they could not serve both God and Mammon. And yet, while millions of Americans claim to be seriously religious, they steadfastly worship the almighty dollar as well. How have we come to combine these two passions? Does religious faith, in fact, influence our attitudes toward work and money? Does it curb our material appetites?
Drawing on a new national survey of more than 2,000 working Americans, plus in-depth interviews with a large sample of respondents, Robert Wuthnow demonstrates how religious commitments connect–or often fail to connect–with our work, our money, and our attitudes toward material possessions.
He definitively shows that there is a stronger relationship between religious values and the pursuit of money than has been assumed; however, it is not one that curbs America’s noted materialism. Rather, in many respects, religious values support more materialism both by helping employees be more satisfied with their work and by helping to justify our materially privileged lives. In his survey, We condemn it, on the one hand, and yet clearly manifest a desire for more money and goods.
Finally, Withnow found that people are looking for a more consistent and solid set of values, and he concludes by addressing both lay leaders and religious leaders on ways in which we can transcend the materialism that governs our lives.”
Robert Wuthnow in God and Mammon in America (New York: Macmillan, 1994) front matter.
This research reveals that we as God’s people are looking for clear instructions for finding freedom from the bonds of materialism. It also demonstrates that what we think we possess actually has us firmly in its grip. May God help us learn to use temporal things without trying to own them (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:31).