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Last Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is considered the most important shopping day of the year. Retailers often pin their hopes of strong annual profit margins on the 24 hour consumerist spree. But this year in the context of a deepening recession, weaker sales showed that fewer people showed up on Black Friday, and those that did were bargain hunting more than ever and forgoing luxury items such as jewelry and high-end apparel. Electronics sales boomed however, particularly in the arena of video games. To make up for overall falling consumerism, retailers have invented a new day of designated shopping – the Monday after Thanksgiving, called Cyber Monday, which this year showed a 13.7 percent increase in online buying activity compared to last year. The statistics are endlessly analyzed in the business news. But what is not being discussed is how the American economy can continue to count on consumer spending to revive it, when record numbers of people are still jobless, dealing with cuts in services, and struggling to pay their mortgages. Moving away from mindless consumerism is still considered anathema by Wall Street and the White House. But not to Reverend Billy and his partner Savitri D of the Church of Life After Shopping. The New York-based duo have been spreading their anti-consumerist gospel for years and their message was captured in a recent film called What Would Jesus Buy about their crusade to save Christmas from the “Shopocalypse.”

GUESTS: Rev. Billy (Talen), and Savitri D, Director of the Church of Life After Shopping

For more information, visit www.revbilly.com.