My dissertation provides a cultural history of for-profit evangelical Christian bookstores in the United States from 1950 to the present. These bookstores stand outside of the church and are for-profit organizations, thereby providing an unusual case through which to explore theories of secularization. I examine complex ideologies regarding the traditional and the modern as well as the profane and the sacred. I do this through an analysis of three arenas: the organizational field as depicted in the professional trade journal; the Christian bookstores as articulated by owners and managers; and the reception of Christian goods as described by a community which embraces WWJD bracelets.

My dissertation is comprised of three substantive chapters. In the first, I examine the business of contemporary Christian bookstores from 1952 to the present. I do this through a content analysis of the Christian Bookseller Association's (CBA) trade journal, including special attention to the statement from the president and the letters to the editor. The CBA trade journal provides a lens through which to examine the important happenings in the organizational field. I find that over time a focus on money-making, in addition to soul-saving becomes the dominant logic in the Christian bookstore field. The discourse of the trade journal includes phrases such as The more money we make, the more souls we save as well as referring to Christian bookstores as a business-ministry. I examine the institutional logic behind the sacralization of the for-profit organizational form.

In the second chapter, I examine the ways in which those engaged in the hands-on business of selling Christian books and products balance tensions between ministry and profit. I draw on interviews with those who manage or own Christian bookstores. Do business personnel engage in strategies of resistance (e.g. refusing to carry certain books or items)? Do they accommodate by selling out and carrying profit-producing products that potentially conflict with their belief systems (e.g., music by divorced Christian rock artists)? Do they engage in sacralization and embrace the intersection of religion, popular culture, and commerce in a way that strengthens their religious convictions?

The third chapter is an ethnography documenting the reception of a specific product sold in Christian bookstores. Through observation and interviews, I observe how WWJD (read: What Would Jesus Do?) bracelets are used in the daily lives of Christian individuals. This chapter provides a micro-level analysis of the discourse of the consumers in the Christian bookstore field.