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The Marketization of Religion: Field, Capital, and Consumer Identity

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  • James H. McAlexander
  • Beth Leavenworth Dufault
  • Diane M. Martin
  • John W. Schouten

Abstract

Certain institutions traditionally have had broad socializing influence over their members, providing templates for identity that comprehend all aspects of life from the existential and moral to the mundanely material. Marketization and detraditionalization undermine that socializing role. This study examines the consequences when, for some members, such an institution loses its authority to structure identity. With a hermeneutical method and a perspective grounded in Bourdieu's theories of fields and capital, this research investigates the experiences of disaffected members of a religious institution and consumption field. Consumers face severe crises of identity and the need to rebuild their self-understandings in an unfamiliar marketplace of identity resources. Unable to remain comfortably in the field of their primary socialization, they are nevertheless bound to it by investments in field-specific capital. In negotiating this dilemma, they demonstrate the inseparability and co-constitutive nature of ideology and consumption.

Suggested Citation

  • James H. McAlexander & Beth Leavenworth Dufault & Diane M. Martin & John W. Schouten, 2014. "The Marketization of Religion: Field, Capital, and Consumer Identity," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(3), pages 858-875.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:doi:10.1086/677894
    DOI: 10.1086/677894
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    Cited by:

    1. Castilhos, Rodrigo B. & Fonseca, Marcelo J., 2016. "Pursuing upward transformation: The construction of a progressing self among dominated consumers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 6-17.
    2. Daniela Andreini & Diego Rinallo & Giuseppe Pedeliento & Mara Bergamaschi, 2017. "Brands and Religion in the Secularized Marketplace and Workplace: Insights from the Case of an Italian Hospital Renamed After a Roman Catholic Pope," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 529-550, March.
    3. Stefano Pace & Matteo Corciolani & Giacomo Gistri, 2017. "Consumers? responses to ethical brand crises on social media platforms," MERCATI & COMPETITIVIT?, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2017(1), pages 141-157.
    4. Fleura Bardhi & Giana M. Eckhardt, 2017. "Liquid Consumption," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 44(3), pages 582-597.
    5. Matthew Hawkins, 2019. "The effect of activity identity fusion on negative consumer behavior," Post-Print hal-02014635, HAL.
    6. Lisiane Costa Pereira & Emerson Wagner Mainardes & Silveli Cristo-Andrade, 2023. "Antecedents of the faithful’s loyalty," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 20(2), pages 289-318, June.
    7. Higgins, Leighanne & Hamilton, Kathy, 2016. "Mini-miracles: Transformations of self from consumption of the Lourdes pilgrimage," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 25-32.
    8. Aliakbar Jafari & Mona Moufahim & Diego Rinallo & Samuelson Appau, 2023. "Theorizing consumption and markets in the context of religion," Post-Print hal-04325662, HAL.
    9. Fujita, Momoko & Harrigan, Paul & Roy, Sanjit Kumar & Soutar, Geoff, 2019. "Two-way acculturation in social media: The role of institutional efforts," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 532-542.
    10. Hong, Soonkwan & Vicdan, Handan, 2016. "Re-imagining the utopian: Transformation of a sustainable lifestyle in ecovillages," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 120-136.
    11. Marie-Catherine Husson Paquier & Sophie Morin-Delerm, 2017. "L'acheteur, un excellent storyteller : Le cas de l'acheteur de produits monastiques," Post-Print hal-03693982, HAL.
    12. Begum Kaplan & Easwar S. Iyer, 2021. "Motivating sustainable behaviors: The role of religiosity in a cross‐cultural context," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(3), pages 792-820, September.
    13. Hawkins, Matthew A., 2020. "The moderating effect of need for belonging and communal-brand connection on counterfeit purchasing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    14. Corciolani, Matteo, 2023. "Navigating institutional complexity through emotion work: The case of Italian consumers adapting to a ketogenic diet," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    15. Matthew Hawkins, 2020. "The moderating effect of need for belonging and communal-brand connection on counterfeit purchasing," Post-Print hal-02943037, HAL.
    16. Fujita, Momoko & Harrigan, Paul & Soutar, Geoffrey N. & Kumar Roy, Sanjit & Roy, Rajat, 2020. "Enhancing member-institution relationships through social media: The role of other-user engagement behavior and similarity perceptions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 642-654.
    17. Yugang He & Jingnan Wang & Baek-Ryul Choi, 2021. "Religious Participation: Does It Matter for Sustainable Culture and Entertainment Consumption?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-16, July.
    18. Veronique Cova & Diego Rinallo, 2015. "Revisiting the separation between sacred and profane: Boundary-work in pilgrimage experiences," Post-Print hal-01492432, HAL.
    19. Stephen L. Vargo & Robert F. Lusch, 2016. "Institutions and axioms: an extension and update of service-dominant logic," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 5-23, January.
    20. Francesco Caputo & Luca Carrubbo & Debora Sarno, 2018. "The Influence of Cognitive Dimensions on the Consumer-SME Relationship: A Sustainability-Oriented View," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-19, September.
    21. Hartman, Anna E. & Coslor, Erica, 2019. "Earning while giving: Rhetorical strategies for navigating multiple institutional logics in reproductive commodification," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 405-419.

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