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Similarly, Scott Rae and Austin Hill state that “capitalism produces a culture that is committed to materialism and consumes much more than it should [and] produces a soulless, materialistic culture that leads to spiritual poverty” (Rae Austin, 2010 , p

Portraying the United States in the era of 1914–1930, William Leuchtenburg states that it is characterized by inconsistency, transformation, and anxiety. Those years signify a restless turning point between the typically conventional, agrarian, nonmetropolitan, religious nation from before WWI and a mechanized, nonreligious, and urban country. ” The nation’s conundrums emerged due to the disinclination of Americans to reconcile themselves with their new America: “a strong state, the dominance of the metropolis, secularization and the breakdown of religious sanctions, the loss of authority of the family, industrial consolidation, international power politics, and mass culture” (Leuchtenburg, 1958 , p. 522).

On a different note, materialism is a broad concept that is intimately linked to capitalism, or in Elie Adams’ words: “the capitalist system is the embodiment of modern materialism” (Adams, 1997 , 127). The author maintains that capitalism is “a way of life dominated by materialistic values, scientific/technological ways of thought, and individualistic utilitarian rationality of the profit-driven […] economy” (129). 66).

From this perspective, materialism also affects the family unit and unity. Hence, the traditional meaning of the family as an integrating, connecting agent has been thrown into disarray because family members are now, first and foremost, activated by materialism. Over and above, one obvious repercussion of materialism is that conventional religion turns into business. Religious institutions and leaders are motivated by the desire for material gain. (more…)