Thou shalt not covet: Role of family religiosity in anti-consumption

Anti-consumption movements, as resistance or rejection of consumption, are opposed in nature to the values of materialism or the idea that possessions are essential to happiness. This article links one anti-consumption practice, voluntary simplicity, to family religiosity by exploring whether parents' religiosity induces reduced levels of materialism in their children. Children aged 6–14 years and their parents in three secular and one religious school were surveyed, and data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Materialism was divided in four factors: money desire, shopping pleasure, possession pleasure and non-generosity. Results show that parents with strong religious behaviours have children who exhibit less desire for money and less non-generosity, but experience a higher shopping pleasure. The effects of parents' religious behaviours on children's materialism are both direct and partially mediated by school type (religious or secular). Religious values in the family environment may contribute to increased anti-consumption lifestyles in following generations.