Religion Is Not What It Used To Be. Consumerism, Neoliberalism, and The Global Reshaping of Religion

12/31/2019 Religion is not what it used to be.
t what it used to be. Consumerism, neoliberalism, and the global reshaping of religion | Religion and Global Society
François Gauthier October 6th, 2017
Religion is not what it used to be. Consumerism,

neoliberalism, and the global reshaping of religion
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Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
The last half-century has seen a shift,

not from religion to no religion but from
one type of religion to another. François
Gauthier argues that scholars of
religion have often ignored the rise of
economics as a dominant and
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglobalsociety/2017/10/religion-is-not-what-it-used-to-be-consumerism-neoliberalism-and-the-global-reshaping-of-religion/ 1/10
12/31/2019 Religion is not what it used to be. Consumerism, neoliberalism, and the global reshaping of religion | Religion and Global Society
structuring social force beginning in the

1980s and, as such, how consumerism
and neoliberalism have shaped religion.
He nds that entrepreneurial types of
religion and those that cater to the
culture of authenticity and expressivity
are experiencing vitality and growth.
Image: Flickr, R Barraez D´Lucca
Religion is not what it used to be. Not so long ago, this statement would
have been understood as meaning the decline of religion. A claim that
seems supported by the recent survey that shows that over 50% of British
adults today declare to be “non-religious”. Yet this trend is only a very
super cial appraisal of what is really going on. If we look closer, the last
half-century has not been a shift from religion to no religion – what we
commonly refer to as “secularization” – as it is a shift from one type of
religion to another. What are the forces that are driving this shift? I believe
these can be boiled down to two complementary processes: the joint rise
and globalization of consumerism and neoliberalism. Not as monolithic

and unidirectional forces, but as the two heads of a process that has
eroded the National-Statist foundations of our societies in favour of a new
con guration in which the mechanisms and the idea of Global Market are
determining. As a consequence, we are shifting from what I call a
“National-Statist regime” of religion towards a “Global Market” one.
It is fascinating that scholars of religion have all but ignored the obvious:
the incredible rise of economics as a dominant and structuring social
force in the beginning of the 1980s. We have all noticed that education,
health and the state’s mission in general are now all submitted to the
logics of economic e ciency. And we have all noticed that consumption
impregnates social life in such a way that it is impossible to relieve
oneself in public facilities without having to stare at publicity. Branding
has become a must for political parties, hospitals, NGOs and even people.
Still, the most prominent authors typically make no mention of the recent
developments of capitalism in their analyses of religion, contrary to other
disciplines which have acknowledged the neoliberal revolution.
Consumerism
In the West, consumerism came before neoliberalism. Consumption

became a mass phenomenon starting in the late 1950s and especially the
1960s. It was not only an economic phenomenon: it was a cultural and
social revolution. From that moment on, the consumption of objects and
services became a vehicle for the expression of personal identity and
became tied to the quests for an authentic life for all social classes. The
concept of “consumerism” captures how consumption is more than
simply buying goods in a market: it is a means of circulating symbols,
meanings, identities and belonging.
Charles Taylor has argued that consumption provided a formidable vehicle

for the democratization of the “culture of authenticity and expressivity”,
according to which every individual is thought of as having a unique self,
and that nding and realizing this self constitutes the very meaning of life.
This authentic self, moreover, must be freed from external authorities,
such as parents, political and religious institutions. Such a consumer
culture is paradoxically hyper-individualistic and communitarian. Identities,
collective and personal, become an important stake. They have no
substance if they are not expressed and recognized by signi cant others.
Hence the incredible success of “social media”.
How does this relate to religion? Rather than providing the basis for the
progressive dislocation of religion, it recomposes it and gives way to novel
expressions. It shapes religion from “below”. Religion becomes a matter
of choice: born-again Muslims, Hindus and Catholics join Pentecostals in
considering that religion must be chosen. The increase of “spiritual-not-
religious” adhesions lies under the varnish of “non-religion”. Religion
becomes de-institutionalized and event-based. De-territorialised, voluntary
communities replace territory-bound, inherited ones. National religion
cedes way to imagined global communities (the global ummah),
transnational uxes and/or subcultural, tribal or ethnic belonging.
Expressive-authentic religion becomes publicized in more ways than the
simple societal exposure and political relevance of religious institutions.
Neoliberalism
Neoliberalism consists of the remarkable return of the old neo-classical

assumptions about the supposedly awless and value-neutral virtues of
the free-market with respect to optimal resource redistribution and social
regulation. It found renewed credibility after three decades of Keynesian-
led unprecedented economic growth and inequality reduction.
Neoliberalism rapidly became an inescapable set of policies, enforced by
new supranational institutions in the wake of Reagan and Thatcher’s

(TINA: there is no alternative) deregulation of the nancial sector. These
macro-economic shifts gave the impulse for the latest and on-going wave
of globalization, whose core is the enmeshing of the world into a single
global market and corresponding networked culture.
Neoliberalism substantially transformed our societies by submitting all

other social spheres, and the state’s mission in particular, to the laws of
international commerce and economic “e ciency”. Its related ideologies
and practices, such as New Public Management, branding and marketing,
were imposed across the board to social service institutions.
Neoliberalism, hand in hand with consumerism, naturalized a utilitarian
and economic rapport to the world. It contributed to change the very
language of social regulation, burying former talk about government under
the new self-evidences of “governance”.
Neoliberalism shapes religion from “above”. It changes the environment in

which religious institutions evolve, and imposes new ways of managing
human and economic resources. Traditional religious institutions, which
were bureaucratized, hierarchical and vertical, are forced to downsize,
rationalize their activities, develop communication strategies and branded
identities, outsource administrative tasks and cast their mission as the
provision of services meeting individual “needs”. Meanwhile, new
networked, supple, charismatic, horizontal and transnational religious
organizations emerge which increase pluralism (now understood as
“competition”) and challenge institutionalised privileges.
Religion spills out of its box
Both consumerism and neoliberalism combine to blur the boundaries

between the religious and “secular” spheres, to the extent that the
religion/secular distinction becomes increasingly impotent. Religion
comes out of its box. The social differentiations of National-Statist

modernity break down as religion blends with tourism, business, media,
entertainment, politics, psychology, medicine and healing. The private /
public divide, which formed the basis for the political regulation of religion
in both Republican and Liberal regimes, is dissolving under the expressive
thrust. The neoliberalism induced “rollback” of the state leads to new
religious initiatives in the eld of healthcare, law, education, social work
and welfare in general.
Overall, types of religion that remain closest to the former National-Statist

model are those experiencing decline and facing the greatest pressures
for reform. On the other hand, those which espouse an entrepreneurial
type and cater to the culture of authenticity and expressivity in one way or
another are experiencing vitality and growth. The self-realization tropes of
New Age derived “holistic spiritualties” have become totally embedded in
popular and managerial culture. They are also increasingly being
recognized as acceptable forms of therapeutics by insurance companies
and states alike. Charismatic trends, of which the wild development of
Pentecostalism is only a small part, are similarly on the rise, often
accompanied by the valuation and promotion of prosperity and success.
The formidable rise and seemingly unbounded extension of the halal
market (including sharia-friendly packaged vacations and ve-star Mecca
pilgrimages), the emergence of fashion or integral veil wearing, as well as
the rise of a new globalization-friendly, capitalism-drenched Muslim pride,
are only some of the phenomena which have transformed the face of
Islam in Muslim-majority countries and Western diasporas.
Those who remain entrenched in the political-institutional paradigm barely

consider these phenomena to be worthy of attention. They are wrong. If
they would take notice of the obvious importance of economics in the
foundation and dynamics of our societies, and conceive of the “market” as
anthropologists rather than neo-classical economists, they would

understand these trends not as marginal developments, but as the very
core of what religion is becoming before our very eyes. Since the
acknowledgment of this global shift sheds light on how religion is no
longer where our institutionalized political regulations expect it to be, the
consequences for policy and public debate are enormous.
About the author
François Gauthier is Professor of Sociology of

Religion at the Social Sciences Department of the
Université de Fribourg, Switzerland, and is working on
a model for understanding global religious change.
Note: This piece gives the views of the author, and not the position of the
LSE Religion and the Public Sphere blog, or of the London School of
Economics.
About the author
François Gauthier
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12/31/2019 Religion is not what it used to be.

François Gauthier October 6th, 2017

Religion is not what it used to be. Consumerism,

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

The last half-century has seen a shift,

structuring social force beginning in the

Image: Flickr, R Barraez D´Lucca

and globalization of consumerism and neoliberalism. Not as monolithic

In the West, consumerism came before neoliberalism. Consumption

Charles Taylor has argued that consumption provided a formidable vehicle

Neoliberalism consists of the remarkable return of the old neo-classical

new supranational institutions in the wake of Reagan and Thatcher’s

Neoliberalism substantially transformed our societies by submitting all

Neoliberalism shapes religion from “above”. It changes the environment in

Religion spills out of its box

Both consumerism and neoliberalism combine to blur the boundaries

comes out of its box. The social differentiations of National-Statist

Overall, types of religion that remain closest to the former National-Statist

Those who remain entrenched in the political-institutional paradigm barely

anthropologists rather than neo-classical economists, they would

About the author

François Gauthier is Professor of Sociology of

About the author

Posted In: RPS Archive

Name Email Site

Private: #LSEreligionLecture: “The West has two approaches

JUNE 29TH, 2017

Private: Changing Britain: Whilst the non-religious are growing,

NOVEMBER 3RD, 2016 3

Private: Public presence as loss of power: Religious NGOs

NOVEMBER 2ND, 2016 1

Private: Non-religious young people in Britain possess a range

FEBRUARY 15TH, 2017 2

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