ABSTRACT
It has become acceptable, almost trendy, to view many aspects of American life through the metaphor of the marketplace. Religion has not been exempt from this consumerist perspective. For many Americans religion and spirituality have been divorced from their institutional moorings. While Americans have always balanced religious commitment and individualism, some observers view the 1960s and the growing individualism and distrust of traditional institutions as intensifying what critic Harold Bloom calls this “American religion.” Whereas forty years ago one would find spiritual sustenance and inspiration in churches, synagogues, and other congregations, today religious seeking can take place in the vast spirituality sections in bookstores, on the Internet, or even within corporations trying to harness spiritual practices to boost productivity.
