Eden Consenstein’s work focuses on the intersections of American religion, capitalism, consumerism and technology.
In Eden Consenstein’s “Evangelicalism in America” class, she asks her students to contemplate two scenarios:
The first is to reflect on a time when they were a “fish out of water” — maybe it was having Thanksgiving dinner at the home of a classmate, being exposed to new customs and family dynamics, seeing things only an outsider could.
The second scenario is to flip the script and imagine a situation in which they were an insider, privy to information a casual visitor wouldn’t have, like experiencing the shared rituals, shorthand lingo and bonding moments of summer camp.
The study of religion considers both perspectives, she said. “We live in that middle space as students of living religious traditions. Insiders have valid knowledge, but so do outsiders. I want students to appreciate that all forms of insight are valid.”
Consenstein is an assistant professor in the department of religious studies and the Mary Noel and William M. Lamont Fellow in Religion and Media. In her research and teaching, she focuses on religion in the United States and how it relates to capitalism, consumerism and technology, among other topics.
She is currently working on two books. The first is about Henry R. Luce, the media mogul behind the Time-Life empire that transformed U.S. journalism a century ago. The son of missionaries, he was a conservative Protestant who had an outsize influence on religion in mainstream American culture due to the megaphone afforded him by his popular publications.
“One of the things I find so interesting is that scholars of religion will say, ‘You know, Americans were so religious that this Protestant theologian appeared on the cover of Time magazine.’ And I’m thinking, well, what if that was not a reflection of American sentiment. The editor-in-chief [Luce] was actually hanging out with the guy,” said Consenstein.
Her second book, still in the data-gathering stage, will explore multilevel marketing, and how evangelicals, in particular, seem to be drawn to it. The marketing strategy involves direct sale of products to consumers, but also recruitment of others to sell the products (think Amway, Avon and more modern companies such as doTerra and Young Living, which sell essential oils).
Because of her work at the intersection of religion and media, Consenstein is also a faculty affiliate of UNC’s Center for Information, Technology and Public Life. She spoke at a panel last fall as part of the center’s Symposium on Religion, Media and Public Life and says she loves the exposure to scholars in other disciplines.
“I’m a historian and love looking at old media, such as old magazines. And then I can talk to someone who’s a sociologist building massive data sets,” she said.
In her “Evangelicalism” course, she has found that most students fall into two camps: those who identify as evangelicals who want to learn more about their tradition, and students who are perplexed by it and want to understand it.
Consenstein said she has been pleasantly surprised in class discussions at how curious and respectful the students have been. “They want to like each other and be understood by each other, so they’re quick to not shut one another down.”
Another popular class she teaches is “Religion, Ethics and Technology,” which attracts a lot of STEM majors. It tells the history of religion in the U.S. through the development of technology. For example, when electricity was invented, a spiritualist movement sprang up with believers who thought one could communicate with the dead through electric currents.
“This is a great way to show that you never get massive technological change without also getting massive religious change,” she said. “That’s really cool for my STEM students to think about.”
By Geneva Collins
Published in the Fall 2024 issue | Faculty Up Close, Tar Heels Up Close
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