Religions as brands? Religion and spirituality in consumer society

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5777499
AutoresJoerg Stolz (University of Lausanne), Jean-Claude Usunier (0000-0002-3736-7258, University of Lausanne, autor de correspondencia)
Año2018
Volumen16
Número1
Páginas6-31
Fecha de publicación2018-03-05
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Management, Spirituality & Religion (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1476-6086 • E-ISSN: 1942-258X
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14766086.2018.1445008
OpenAlexW2791141855
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas19
Referencias citadas91

This article gives an interdisciplinary account of the societal causes as well as individual and organizational effects of religious consumer society. It integrates and systematizes contributions from economics of religion, marketing, and sociology of religion. The article presents the causes of religious consumer society and the most frequent individual adaptations (quality expectations, religious shopping, syncretism) and organizational responses (marketing and branding strategies). Findings are that (1) in the religious consumer society, individuals are free not to be religious or spiritual, putting religious associations in competition with secular organizations, and possibly leading to secularization, (2) it is exaggerated to speak of shopping and consuming as the "new religions" of Western societies, and (3) religious marketing and branding face important limitations, some internal and some external to religious and spiritual organizations, due to the dilemma between marketing practices and transcendental claims. We suggest ways and means to solve this dilemma

Religious organization · Secularization · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Society, and Development · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology