And God Said, “Let There be Essential Oils”: Multi-Level Marketing and Christian Women

This study will explore the intersection between multi-level marketing (MLM) and Christian spirituality among White American women by means of a systemic analysis of faith-based language and rhetoric that is utilized by members of MLMs. Through the use of qualitative content analysis, I will examine how MLMs like BODi, Amway, and Young Living engage their members in a form of spiritual consumer culture. Drawing from Max Weber’s Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and Kathryn Lofton’s Consuming Religion, this project argues that MLMs not only engage in the buying and selling of products but also construct a faith-formed lifestyle that situates consumerism within religious identity. This study contributes to ongoing discussions in religious studies regarding the interest in spirituality and capitalism by revealing how faith-based consumerism reshapes Christian spirituality and promotes new forms of religious participation in late-stage capitalism.