Review of Selling God by R. Laurence Moore

WWJD? Most everyone has probably ran across those letters in the past 10 years, and they can tell you they stand for “What would Jesus do?” Bracelets with those four little letters can cost up to $5, T-shirts can cost up to $15, and hats can cost up to $10. Many people, upon seeing the price of that merchandise simply say “Jesus wouldn’t pay $15 for a T-shirt.” One of the reasons the United States was founded was for religious freedom. Ever since the founding of this country, there has been religion entering the marketplace. There are no clear boundaries between religion and commodity. There is
Clothing, music, books, television and radio programs, theater performances, and revivals (to name a few) all having to do with religion. These things cost money. In his book Selling God, American Religion in the Marketplace of Culture, author R. Laurence Moore explores this phenomenon.
R. Laurence Moore starts out by writing about the religion in the days of revivals. In a ...