Mapping Religion, Spirituality, and Sexuality in Consumer Research

Religions and spiritual movements have specific doctrines related to sexuality that prescribe (mandate or encourage) or proscribe (forbid or discourage) numerous forms of sex-related consumer behavior. These norms create conditions of privilege or discrimination, stigma, oppression, and marginalization for specific sexual identities. Following recent calls for intersectional consumer research, in this chapter we look at the specific manners in which religious/spiritual doctrines can affect consumer sexuality. We analyze the theologies of sexuality of a religion characterized by strong central institutions, Roman Catholicism, and a more loosely organized religious movement, Wicca, to discuss their broader role in shaping consumer sexual behavior and identities. We then provide a mapping of the various manners religion/spirituality and sexuality intersect in consumer research and suggest future avenues of inquiry at this intersection. While most consumer research on sexuality on one hand, and on spirituality and religion on the other hand, have so far evolved without intersecting, the times are ripe for work taking into consideration the mutual influences religion and sexuality have on marketplace structures and consumers' lives.