Gauthier, F. and Martikainen, T. (eds) (2013) Religion in Consumer Society: Brands, Consumers and Markets. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. - 268 p.

The book "Religion in the Consumer Society: Brands, Consumers and Markets" was published in the summer of 2013 in a series related to one of the largest modern research programs focused on the study of religion in Europe - Religion and Society Program. This program combines thirty-two scientific disciplines in seventy-five large-scale projects. This collection, continuing to develop the topics already covered in previous publications, 1 focuses on the economic aspect of the current state of religion in developed countries, namely, the mutual influence and links between religion and the consumerist ideology of developed countries.

1. Gauthier, F. and Martikainen, T. (eds) (2013) Religion in the Neoliberal Age: Modes of Governance and Political Economy. Farnham, 2013; Gauthier, F., Martikainen, T. and Woodhead, L. (eds) (2011) "Religion in Consumer Society", Social Compass (special issue) 58 (3).

page 301
The collection consists of twelve articles, grouped equally in two parts. The first part, Changing World Religions, focuses on the changes that have affected world religions in recent decades; these changes are linked to the global economic and political changes that have marked the transition to a consumer society in developed countries. The articles of the first part of the collection attempt to determine the borrowing of consumer society strategies by world religious traditions. These strategies stem from the need to adapt to the new cultural and economic landscape and the transformations that religious tradition itself undergoes as a result of such borrowing.

The second part is Commoditised Spiritualities ("Spirituality turned into a commodity"). He examines consumerism and commodification, that is, the transformation of religious meanings and practices into commodities, based on the material of such religious phenomena of our time as new religious movements, New Age and practices of various subcultures.

The collection is notable for the variety of topics covered, including the use of elements of Buddhism and pop culture in modern American Judaism (article by Mira Niculescu), and the paradoxical connections between the capitalist consumer society and the seemingly anti-consumer spirit of the Burning Man festival (article by Francois Gauthier). This diversity can also be called the main drawback of the collection: articles that are united by one too extensive topic are poorly connected with each other, and they study completely different material. The editors did not aim to offer a theoretical conceptualization that has already taken place in previous publications, which leaves the impression that the collection is somewhat secondary. At the same time, the diverse material collected in the book on various issues is of undoubted interest.

The collection opens with Simon Speck's article Religion, Individualization and Consumerism: Constructions of Religiosity in 'Liquid' and 'Reflective' Modernity. Speck's article, the only purely theoretical work in the collection, is devoted to the juxtaposition and analysis of two philosophical concepts-Zygmunt Bauman's" fluid modernity " and "reflexive modernity".-

page 302
sti" by Ulrich Beck. Bauman and Beck hold opposing views on the relationship between religion and consumerism, as well as the role they play in shaping cosmopolitan or fundamentalist religious identities. Speck defines Bauman's position as" trivializing", since he sees consumerism as a force leading to the decline of religion and its loss of influence, which ultimately translates into fundamentalism as a reaction to the current situation. Bauman sees the goal of fundamentalism - the "religion of flawed consumers" - as overcoming new challenges by appealing to simple truths. Beck's position is radically opposite - he believes that an individualized religion, freed from control, becomes a full-fledged subject of civil society in the period of "second modernity". Speck defines Beck's point of view as "revitalizing." The analysis and comparison of two opposing philosophical concepts concerning the relationship between religion and consumerism are intended to help clarify some of the problems of the position of religion in modern society. Статья From Standardised Offer to Consumer Adaptation: Challenges to the Church of Sweden's Identity ("From Standardized Supply to Consumer Orientation: Challenges for the Identity of the Church of Sweden") by Swedish researcher Per Peterson focuses on the attempts of the Lutheran Church of Sweden to adapt to consumer demand in the face of a declining number of parishioners. Using the example of the Church of Sweden, Per Peterson examines the social prerequisites and difficulties of forming a religious identity in a modern capitalist society. The main indicator of religious identity is the number of people attending liturgical services, especially on Sundays. The decline in the number of parishioners attending Sunday services has long been seen as a significant indicator of the decline in Christian religiosity, not only by the Lutheran Church itself, but also by sociologists who have argued that secularization in Sweden is increasing. However, Per Peterson draws attention to the fact that while the number of parishioners attending Sunday services is decreasing, there is a constant and even sometimes increasing demand for services related to rites of passage, pilgrimage to holy places, charity, etc. Per Peterson concludes that

page 303
The Church of Sweden is not losing its influence, but this influence is being transformed qualitatively. According to Peterson, attendance at liturgical and Sunday services is not in demand in today's individualistic consumer society and is a relic of the collectivism of past eras, hence the quantitative decline, while the demand for individual services persists and even increases. In this way, each person gains power over the Church in a certain sense, that is, he has the right to freely depart from the Church, abstain or join the Church in the form that he considers necessary. It is this power of the consumer of religious services that shapes the new image of the Church. The third article of the collection, Packaging Religious Experience, Selling Modular Religion: Explaining the Emergence and Expansion of Megachurches ("Packaging religious experience and selling modular religion: an attempt to explain the emergence and expansion of megachurches") Stephen Ellingson's book is dedicated to such a specific phenomenon as American "megachurches", that is, churches that are visited by more than two thousand parishioners every week. According to Ellingson, the secret to the success of megachurches is that they successfully adapt to the consumer society by constantly using and introducing various innovations in the process of worship. Ellingson focuses on the emergence and growth of megachurches, analyzes their innovations and the impact that megachurches have on the population. What makes megachurches unique is that they identify themselves as "businesses" that operate in the religious market and take into account consumer demand to turn religions into an adequate supply for this demand. Reacting to the existing demand (confirmed by systematic market research), megachurches, existing in the context of modern pop culture, offer an emotionally powerful and constantly changing religious response.

Статья The Paradoxes of New Monasticism in the Consumer Society ("Paradoxes of the New Monasticism in the consumer Society") Stefani Palmisano explores the so-called "new monasticism", that is, the movement that emerged in Catholic monasticism after the Second Vatican Council. Palmisano argues that the processes of monastic renewal were driven by modern social and cultural changes, as well as by the dynasties of the past.-

page 304
koi of the capitalist market. The article discusses, in particular, the paradoxical interactions of the "new monasticism" with society in the context of the modern social landscape. Based on a qualitative study of seven Catholic communities of the "new monasticism" in Italy, Palmisano comes to a paradoxical conclusion: on the one hand, the "new monasticism" is an alternative to the accelerated, profit - oriented and successful society of consumer capitalism, on the other hand, it clearly borrows some elements and methods of the capitalist economy and the ideology of consumption. Find Your Inner God and Breathe: Buddhism, Pop Culture, and Contemporary Metamorphoses in American Judaism Mira Niculescu explores the transformation of American Judaism caused by new forms of popular culture. The dilemma of Judaism as a non-missionary religion is to maintain a connection with tradition and at the same time be competitive in a pluralistic and individualistic religious market. Niculescu examines three types of strategies adopted by Jewish religious communities to attract consumers: the use of Eastern " spirituality, "the" re-branding "of Judaism through mass culture, and the" esotericization " of Judaism through Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism.

The sixth article, final for the first part of the collection, Shopping for a Church? Choice and Commitment in Religious Behavior ("Shopping in search of a church? Choice and Commitment in Religious Behavior"), Francesca Montemaggi explores the analogy between religious choice and product choice. Drawing a distinction between the "formal" (marketing of religious ideas to consumers) and the "essential" (loss of value by religion) commodification of religion, Montemaggi criticizes the provisions of the utilitarian theory of rational choice as devaluing religious experience and reducing religious choice to rational self-interest. The author offers an expanded view of the influence of the ideology of consumption on religious choice. Montemaggi's point is confirmed by field research conducted by the Christian Evangelical Church in Wales.

The second part of the book is devoted to such phenomena of modern society as new religious movements, New Age,

page 305
subcultures and spirituality. The authors of the articles collected in the second part explore the relationship between consumerism and these relatively new religious phenomena. Andrew Dawson's article Entangled Modernity and Commodified Religion: Alternative Spirituality and the 'New Middle Class' opens the second part."Confused Modernity and Commodified Religion: Alternative Spirituality and the "new middle class"), which examines the question of turning religion into a commodity for the new globalized middle class. Dawson argues that the consumer ideology of modernity affects not only Western, but also Westernized countries, citing the example of empirical research in Brazil. These studies show that the interests of the new middle class revolve around their own personality and are shaped by consumption and the search for new components that can serve to construct it. Merge the roles of consumer and producer into one - prosumer (from the English producer - producer and consumer - consumer). sets the type of personality in which the individual becomes a construct created through the consumption of religious symbols, practices, and experiences.

The Enchantments of Consumer Capitalism: Beyond Belief at the Burning Man Festival by Frederick Gauthier, one of the editors of the collection, focuses on the religious component of the annual Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert and the subculture that has emerged around it. Gaultier challenges the neoclassical economic theory of consumption and points out the many paradoxical ways in which consumption shapes culture and transforms brands into religious cults.

In the ninth article of the collection, Buddha for Sale! The Commoditisation of Tibetan Buddhism in Scotland ("Buddha for sale! The commodification of Tibetan Buddhism in Scotland"), John Mackenzie analyzes the centers of Tibetan Buddhism that began to appear in Scotland in the sixties of the XX century. He pays special attention to the "Rock-pa" movement, which came to Scotland in 1980. In this article, McKenzie explores the ways in which Buddhism adapts to Western consumer culture, and the effects that this adaptation can have on the world.

page 306
have. McKenzie's main thesis is that in the case of Rockpa, the commodification of religious meanings is purely external. The combination of restricting access to the fundamental foundations of the tradition by allocating several levels of initiation and using consumerist methods allowed the movement to both meet the consumer demand of participants and attract new members, as well as preserve the value of religious ideas and meanings of Tibetan Buddhism.

Article Mutual Interests? Neoliberalism and New Age During the 1980s ("Mutual Benefit? Neoliberalism and New Age in the Eighties") Larsa Alina explores the amazing alliance between neoliberal ideology and the New Age movement that emerged in the eighties of the XX century in the pages of the influential Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. Alin examines the socio-political context of the eighties, when the call for neoliberal economic reforms was officially launched in Sweden, unexpectedly supported by members of the New Age movement, who by that time had abandoned anti-capitalist and anti-consumer criticism. The individualization and focus on the success of the New Age was in tune with neoliberal ideas. Alin concludes that, just as the ethics of Protestantism worked to legitimize industrial capitalism, New Age ethics were used to legitimize neoliberalism and consumerism in the pages of Svenska Dagbladet.

In the next article, Healing or Dealing? Neospiritual Therapies and Coaching as Individual Meaning and Social Discipline in Late Modern Swedish Society ("Healing or Entrepreneurship? Therapy and Coaching as an Individual Meaning and social discipline in late-Modern Swedish Society"), also written on Swedish material, Anna-Kristin Hornborg examines health-improving spiritual practices and personal growth trainings. The author describes how these new practices are marketed and applied in Swedish society, how they satisfy the individual's need to find meaning in life and achieve success, and help smooth out existential dissatisfaction. The CoachCompanion and Resantherapy organizations were chosen as the subject of the study.

The collection concludes with the article Valuing Spirituality: Commodification, Consumption and Community in Glastonbury.-

page 307
on to Glastonbury") Marion Bauman, who describes the commodification of religious meanings and their consumption in the English city of Glastonbury, once one of the Christian pilgrimage centers, but now turned into a major New Age center. Based on field research from 1990 to the present and the results of a small pilot survey of the "spiritual" economy in 2007, Glastonbury is being investigated as an example of a special place intended for "spiritual" consumption, in which commercial relations themselves can acquire sacred value. By studying how this system of searching for and consuming religious experiences and religious meanings functions, it is possible to better understand the construction of individual and collective religious identities, the ways in which spirituality is" bought and sold " and how it is perceived by people involved in this activity. The article is a study of an important but often ignored topic of "spiritual" economics, which, however, as we can see from the example of Glastonbury, can have an impact on the economic landscape of an entire city.

In general, this collection, written mainly on the basis of empirical research, makes a valuable contribution to the discussion of the current state of religion in developed and developing countries and is of great interest to researchers of modern religiosity.

page 308

Permanent link to this publication: