Religions as brands? Religion and spirituality in consumer society

Abstract

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.

Understanding New Religion-Compliant Product Adoption (NRCPA) in Islamic Markets

“…A theoretical paper by Stolz and Usunier, (2018) listed some limitations and obstacles for religious marketing and branding. They even stated that consumers in general or even the organisations themselves may not accept religious marketing.…”

Alignment between Brand & Religion: Does it exist?

“…The tussle and dilemma about how to differentiate a product or brand from others is not only in the mind of marketers, but also in the mind of consumers, as the features which were once used as a decision making tools are losing their credibility and distinctiveness (Singh, 2016). Marketers are now eyeing for a share of consumers' inner lives, their values, their beliefs and their souls.…”

The Role of Culture in Sports Sponsorship: an Update

“…There are few studies with an explicit focus on sport sponsorship and religion. The focus on sport sponsorship and religion is much narrower than the more expansive literature on the intersection between sport and religion (62,63). Some argue that there is a deep connection between sport and religion (63), whereas others consider that sport and religion are "fundamentally different phenomena" (62).…”