{"id":{"repo_id":"missouri","oai_identifier":"oai:mospace.umsystem.edu:10355/4987"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/missouri/oai:mospace.umsystem.edu:10355/4987","repository":{"repo_id":"missouri","name":"University of Missouri","base_url":"https://mospace.umsystem.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Branding faith: object and consumerism in religious identity construction","abstract":"In this thesis I theorize about the potentially negative affects of competition among Evangelical groups in their attempts to attain members on a college campus. I hypothesize that in order to draw the attention of potential members, religious groups will offer \"quick-fix\" solutions to problems of everyday life which, due to their unsatisfactory nature, will result in either church-hoping or constant changes in religious identity. To observe these processes and investigate an understudied aspect of religious life, I look for how objects come to be a part of, or resist, tendencies towards church-hoping and simplistic short-term solutions. Contrary to my expectations, I found through photo-elicitation interviews and non-participant observation of one Evangelical group that members of the religious group I studied created long-term solutions, community, and a sense of wholeness in their lives through objects.","abstract_html":"In this thesis I theorize about the potentially negative affects of competition among Evangelical groups in their attempts to attain members on a college campus. I hypothesize that in order to draw the attention of potential members, religious groups will offer "quick-fix" solutions to problems of everyday life which, due to their unsatisfactory nature, will result in either church-hoping or constant changes in religious identity. To observe these processes and investigate an understudied aspect of religious life, I look for how objects come to be a part of, or resist, tendencies towards church-hoping and simplistic short-term solutions. Contrary to my expectations, I found through photo-elicitation interviews and non-participant observation of one Evangelical group that members of the religious group I studied created long-term solutions, community, and a sense of wholeness in their lives through objects.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Josephsohn, Thomas J."],"institution":"University of Missouri--Columbia","degree_name":"M.A.","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":"Sociology (MU)","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Neitz, Mary Jo, 1951-"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2007,"date_issued":"2007","date_published":"2007","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:09:16Z","subjects":[],"languages":["eng","English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.32469/10355/4987"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://doi.org/10.32469/10355/4987","href":"https://doi.org/10.32469/10355/4987","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10355/4987","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Neitz, Mary Jo, 1951-"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Josephsohn, Thomas J."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2010-01-12T19:07:48Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2010-01-12T19:07:48Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2007"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["University of Missouri--Columbia"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Sociology (MU)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Missouri--Columbia"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.32469/10355/4987"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10355/4987"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.","Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on October 29, 2007)","Includes bibliographical references.","Thesis (M.A.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2007.","Dissertations, Academic -- University of Missouri--Columbia -- Sociology."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In this thesis I theorize about the potentially negative affects of competition among Evangelical groups in their attempts to attain members on a college campus. I hypothesize that in order to draw the attention of potential members, religious groups will offer \"quick-fix\" solutions to problems of everyday life which, due to their unsatisfactory nature, will result in either church-hoping or constant changes in religious identity. To observe these processes and investigate an understudied aspect of religious life, I look for how objects come to be a part of, or resist, tendencies towards church-hoping and simplistic short-term solutions. Contrary to my expectations, I found through photo-elicitation interviews and non-participant observation of one Evangelical group that members of the religious group I studied created long-term solutions, community, and a sense of wholeness in their lives through objects."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Branding faith: object and consumerism in religious identity construction"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Neitz, Mary Jo, 1951-"],"dc:creator":["Josephsohn, Thomas J."],"dc:date.accessioned":["2010-01-12T19:07:48Z"],"dc:date.available":["2010-01-12T19:07:48Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2007"],"dc:description":["The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.","Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on October 29, 2007)","Includes bibliographical references.","Thesis (M.A.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2007.","Dissertations, Academic -- University of Missouri--Columbia -- Sociology."],"dc:description.abstract":["In this thesis I theorize about the potentially negative affects of competition among Evangelical groups in their attempts to attain members on a college campus. I hypothesize that in order to draw the attention of potential members, religious groups will offer \"quick-fix\" solutions to problems of everyday life which, due to their unsatisfactory nature, will result in either church-hoping or constant changes in religious identity. To observe these processes and investigate an understudied aspect of religious life, I look for how objects come to be a part of, or resist, tendencies towards church-hoping and simplistic short-term solutions. 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