Christian bookstore growth from 270 to 3000 stores catalyzed evangelical culture

Evidence

Evangelical books began to roll off the presses, ready to be distributed across the country through the newly organized Christian Booksellers Association (CBA). Earlier in the century, religious publishing houses had marketed their wares primarily to church leaders, a practice shaped largely by problems of distribution. For much of American history, bookstores were only profitable in larger urban centers; to reach other consumers, publishers worked through denominational distribution systems or resorted to door-to-door sales or mail order. All of this changed with the establishment of the CBA. In a booming economy buoyed by readily available credit, a loan and a CBA catalog were all that was needed to start a Christian bookstore. In 1950, when the CBA first organized, there were about 270 affiliated stores; by the mid-1960s there were 725, and by the end of the 1970s there were around 3000 scattered in small towns and cities across the country. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 72

Categorization

• XREF: The infrastructure numbers substantiate the ‘consumer culture apparatus’ the reader wants to identify. Directly feedable into explaining how the cultural strand became dominant — bookstores were a nationwide distribution network reaching small towns. — connects to: Catholic retail outlets sell mass-produced devotional goods — Dolores DeLuce, Blow Jobs: A Guide to Making It in Show…, 221