Veblen, Veblenian Social Practices, and Prosperity Theology

Abstract:

At the turn of the twentieth century (1910), Veblen published an essay which explored the relationship between Christianity and capitalism by focusing on the interaction between the two institutions as they evolved. Veblen’s analysis begins by detailing the evolution of Christianity prior to the age of industrialized capitalism, after which he explores the evolutionary interplay between the two. Just over ten years prior to the publication of this essay (1899), Veblen published the Theory of the Leisure Class while over ten years after the publication of the essay (1923), Veblen dissected the sales efforts of Christianity in a note titled “Salesmanship and the Churches.” Nearly 100 years later, these three works together explain a modern and distinctly American religious movement—Prosperity Theology. This research argues that Prosperity Theology as practiced in the United States over the past nearly half century embodies and integrates all three of these works by Veblen and proposes the conceptual term “Veblenian Social Practice.”

Keywords::

• Veblen
• capitalism
• religion
• institutions
• emotions

JEL Classification Codes::

• B52
• Z12
• N00

Notes

¹ Although as John Diggins points out: “Not only does his (Veblen’s) treatment of Christianity contradict his earlier argument that competitive exploit develops with the passing of polytheistic and matriarchal forms of worship, but Veblen never makes it clear whether the masses of Roman converts were communalists because they were Christian or whether they were Christian because they were communalists" (Diggins 1978, 135).

² For a thorough and thoroughly engaging read on the history of the Prosperity Gospel, see Bowler 2013.

³ Malachi 3:8–12 (King James Version) “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.

⁴ For example: Abraham, Joseph, and David

⁵ Matthew 6:19–21 (KJV) “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”

⁶ Matthew 19:2 (KJV) “And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God”

⁷ 1 Timothy 6:10 (KJV) “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs”

⁸ According to the Prosperity Gospel, material lack might well be a test proctored by God to test one’s devotion or faith—much like Job (Barker 2007).

⁹ The Prosperity Gospel preaching churches transcend denominational lines; most of the mega-churches who preach the Prosperity Gospel self-categorize as non-denominational. Prosperity Gospel preaching also transcends traditional media as the followers of the Prosperity Gospel learn and participate in its teachings through a sundry of mediums outside the traditional in-person church sermon, whether through watching televised services, books and videos, engaging with the material through social media or participation in workshops. For this reason, counting the number of believers is a difficult, if not impossible task (Bowler 2013).

¹⁰ Veblen’s endnote at the end of this sentence is a listing of the “Extra Services at St. Patrick’s” (1994, 308).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mary V. Wrenn

Mary Wrenn is a senior lecturer in economics and researcher with the Social Justice Research Group at the University of the West of England. The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments, and likewise thank Dr. Kate Bowler, Associate Professor of History of Christianity in North America at Duke Divinity School. Any mistakes are the author’s.