Religious Market Model

The recently excavated Mawangdui and Zhangjiashan manuscripts have been instrumental in reconstructing early Chinese self-cultivation practices, such as meditation, calisthenics and sexual exercises , providing scholars with new information that was not preserved in the received literature. This article focuses on the production, dissemination, and use of these manuscripts and their role in promoting regimens of self-cultivation. Fusing two theoretical frameworks, the 'religio-medical marketplace' model and the 'supply-side religious economy' paradigm, with a close reading of excavated and received sources, I suggest that the production of these manuscripts can be seen as a component of a conscious strategy employed by 'masters of techniques' in their attempts to attract the patronage of elite customers in the religio-medical marketplace. This was done by employing a multifaceted approach: couching these manuscripts in familiar terminology and literary allusions, presenting the problems of their clientele, aging men, as solvable conditions, and limiting access to their texts and techniques in order to package them as luxury items. Uncovering the methodology and ideology behind the manufacturing of these manuscripts, I argue, allows us to determine the utility, pragmatics, and cultural practices embedded and reiterated in their narratives and shed new light on the role of textual production in the propagation of self-cultivation regimens in early China.

자본주의와 종교, 또는 신자유주의와 종교의 인과적 필연성을 찾아내기란 결코 쉬운 작업이 아니다. 이 관계는 단지 경제와 종교, 물질과 관념, 세속과 초월이라는 도식으로 이해될 수 없다. 가령 신자유주의는 단지 신자유주의 경제를 지칭하는 것이 아니라 (밥 제솝의 문화정치경제학적 의미에서) 신자유주의 담론이라는 몸체(body) 속에서 이해될 수 있는 것이며, 종교 역시 관념의 총합이 아니라 (뒤르켐 식으로 말하자면) 신념체계와 의례의 종합이기 때문이다. 이 관계를 해명하는 어려움은 익히 알려진 베버의 『프로테스탄티즘의 윤리와 자본주의 정신』에 드러나 있다. 베버는 이 양자의 관계를 비교역사사회학적 방법론을 통해서 상세한 설명을 제공했음에도 불구하고 결과적으로는 자본주의와 종교습속(ethos)들 간의 "선택적 친화성"(elective affinity)이라는 상관관계를 보여주는 데에서 머무른 측면이 있다. 그래서 이 책의 제목이 "윤리"와 "정신"인 것이다. 한편 부르디외에 따르면 이것은 경제장과 종교장의 구조적 "상동성"(homogeneity)에 다름 아니다. 강인철(2002)은 오늘날 이 관계를 자본주의에 대한 종교의 "이데올로기적 동조"와 "종교의 상품화"로 설명했으며, 박상언(2008)은 "개신교 자본주의화"나 "이념적 동화"라고 표현했다. '개신교 자본주의화'는 신앙을 매개로 자본을 축적하는 "영성의 자본화"와 자본주의를 정당화하는 신학의 이데올로기인 "자본의 영성화"가 동시에 진행되는 것이다. 종교와 자본주의(경제)에 관한 (선택적 친화성의 자장 하에 있는) 이러한 연구들은 앞으로의 종교연구가 이 양자의 관계를 분석적으로 구별하면서도 이 양자가 때로는 분리불가능할 정도로 긴밀하게 엮여있는 '이중적 진실' 또는 '반경제적 경제'(Bourdieu, 1998)를 시사하는 것으로 해석할 수 있다.

This article intends to elucidate the aspect of “attraction” in the context of (religious) trade by investigating “Philo’s Attractive Ethics on the ‘Religious Market’ of Ancient Alexandria.” The article investigates the Jewish religious-ethical way of life as it is presented by the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria (ca. 15 b.c.e–45 c.e.) in a situation of religious destabilization in the Diaspora. Interaction between Judaism and Hellenism in the trade center of Alexandria was varied and included elements of assimilation, creative re-elaboration, and reaction. There was a strong element of reciprocity. Jews were attracted by the Hellenistic culture. It is also clear that non-Jews were attracted to Judaism and that its religious-ethical practice (which followed from Jewish teaching, e.g., on the Sabbath) played a key role in this process. Philo writes for Jews who may feel tempted to leave the Jewish faith and for non-Jews who may feel tempted to embrace the Jewish faith. In this context, he presents both the Jewish moral teaching and its practice as an attractor for “staying in” as well as “getting in.” This makes Philo an agent of religious formation and transformation, because he gives new emphasis to a number of “Jewish goods” in the context of the “market place” Alexandria. He puts weight on the law and on piety. Both of these are entities to which members of the Greco-Roman world could easily relate. Philo had precious “goods” to offer. A final comparison with the Apostle Paul shows that perhaps more people bought these goods on the religious “market places” of antiquity than is often assumed.

Economics of religion has substantially contributed to a better understanding of religious behavior. The paper seeks to explore the explanatory fecundity of this theory by assessing religious institutions from an economic viewpoint. Primary emphasis is placed upon the premisse that churches strive to maximize committed membership, subject to the constraints imposed by their doctrines upon potential adherents. In particular, it is argued that religious participation emerges as a function of religious capital, informal social interactions and religious market structure. In a supply perspective, the theory predicts the effect of religious competition between rival entities, on religious participation. The paper addresses issues of religious strictness and participation in the context of monopolistic churches and provides a rationale for plausible explanations of the shift toward conservatism in their rhetorical srategies. From a demand side perspective, current efforts to sonceptualize remorse, contrition and related subjective experiences are examined in the light of religious choice that accounts for commitments, beliefs and other determinants of religious behaviors. Limitations of this approach, and suggestions for further research, are indicated and briefly sdiscussed.

Kim, Yoon Tae 2013 "Typologies of Religious Market Model: an Economic Approach to Religion." King's College London, Theology and Religious Studies. Ph.D. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the economic approach to religion and suggest a new frame for the religious market model. In religious studies, various approaches have been attempted, for example anthropology, sociology and psychology. Recently, some sociologists and economists have started to observe the marketization of religion and to explain religious phenomena or behaviours from an economic perspective. Based on this economic approach to religion, they have made it possible to explain not only marketization of religion but also religious revival in a secular and modern period. In spite of their great contributions to the formation of a new paradigm in religious studies, however, the economic approach to religion has been criticized for its reductionist methodology and basic assumptions. In addition, this approach has been questioned about its main theory, the religious market model. Some people assume that this model can be applied only to a free market situation in the modern period; others assume that it is applicable only to specially secularized regions, such as the U.S. or U.K. Nevertheless, the previous model has often shown some limitations because of the narrow understanding of the religious market. After all, these limitations have left economists of religion unable to explain more diverse religious contexts. Given these considerations, this thesis concludes that the existing religious market model needs to be more comprehensively updated. Therefore, in order to enhance the applicability of the economic approach to religion, I suggest new typologies of the religious economic system, religious market, and religious market structure. Then I examine how they can be applied in an actual religious marketplace through specific cases in South Korea.

The aim of this paper is to assess, from an empirical point of view, the relative explanatory capacities of two hypotheses that address the link between economics and religion: the religious markets and the secularization hypothesis. First, we estimate a baseline model that takes into account both hypotheses jointly. Secondly, we study in a separate way the influence of socioeconomic development and market structure. Finally, we investigate the relationship between group size and religious commitment. Overall, the results suggest some supporting evidence for the predictions derived from the hypothesis of religious markets that emphasize the overriding importance of the degree of competition as a determinant factor of religious behaviours.

The aim of this paper is to assess, from an empirical point of view, the relative explanatory capacities of two hypotheses that address the link between economics and religion: the religious markets and the secularization hypothesis. First, we estimate a baseline model that takes into account both hypotheses jointly. Secondly, we study in a separate way the influence of socio-economic development and market structure. Finally, we investigate the relationship between group size and religious commitment. Overall, the results suggest some supporting evidence for the predictions derived from the hypothesis of religious markets that emphasize the overriding importance of the degree of competition as a determinant factor of religious behaviours.

The main argument of this paper is that religious change caused by modifying supply in the religious market takes time due to intergenerational value change. Unlike previous research, this study suggests that not only do religious agents on the supply side need time to adjust, but that the time lag is probably even greater among individuals on the demand side of the religious market. Using time series data, the study demonstrates that, despite shrinking church attendance, interest in religious concepts such as ''salvation'' has increased in the generations born after 1970 in Sweden. Describing the transformation of the Swedish religious market from a regulated religious monopoly before 1970 to an increasingly deregulated and competitive religious supply since 1970, the study explains this revival in religious interest on the part of generations whose formative years were after 1970. As these generations replace previous generation with less religious interest, religious interest is rising in the Swedish population. The conclusion holds even when controlling for period and lifecycle effects, as well as alternative explanations of religious change such as increased migration and the existential security thesis. Keywords Generation Á Religious change Á Secularization Á Religious market Á Salvation Á Existential security The strong and ongoing secularization of religiously deregulated but extremely secular societies (Bruce 2000) is a major problem for the controversial religious market theory (Iannaccone 1997; Stark and Finke 2000). In highly secular Northern European societies such as that of Sweden (Inglehart and Welzel 2005), despite a deregulated religious market like that created when the Swedish government

Resumo: Este artigo trata da Teoria Econômica do Mercado Religioso. São apresentados conceitos extraídos desse paradigma, como commodity religiosa, oferta e demanda de bens e serviços religiosos, competição e monopólio no mercado religioso, dentre outros. Os graus de regulação no mercado religioso são discutidos. São mostradas as definições de organizações religiosas e seus tipos, conceitos de compensadores religiosos e as possíveis consequências da intervenção governamental no mercado religioso. A principal contribuição deste trabalho é uma revisão da literatura, com base nos resultados de testes empíricos, sobre o principal resultado da Teoria do Mercado Religioso, ou seja, a de que existe uma correlação positiva entre pluralismo religioso e frequência religiosa.

How can we best understand the work of Chinese Catholics in interreligious dialogue? This essay puts ecclesial and academic discussion of interreligious dialogue in relation with the social realities of religious relations in China: the minority status of Christians as a demographic group, the plurality and multiple religious belonging common to Chinese religious life, and the political power of the state managing religious groups and their relations for state ends like social stability and harmony. Drawing on the insights of sociologists of Chinese religion, I consider the likelihood, challenges and possibilities of Catholic participation in interreligious dialogue.

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Much has been written about secularization, but there have
been few profound researches on its internal layers and on
the most solid and systematic alternatives that followed.
In our view, this has had two consequences: constraints of
interpretative understanding and of analytical-theoretical
deepening that must and can be overcome. To achieve this goal,
we have chosen a research design that encompasses the strategy
of thick description as well as the comparative method and we
divided the paper in two basic parts. First, we analyse the main
substrates of secularization, namely functional differentiation,
rationalization, societalization, existential security and diversity,
egalitarianism and individualism. Secondly, we introduce the
main and most challenging alternative to secularization theories,
according to the state of the art – the religious economy –,
examining it in the light of secularization’s central assumptions.
The analysis of two diametrically opposed theories, concerning
the understanding of religion’s place in contemporary world,
will allow us to explore patterns of difference and similarity
between them. Additionally, we will be able to explain how is
it possible that this theoretical models, with similar objects of
study, have led us to the inference of such different results in
respect to the (in)variance or to the religious vitality (or the
lack of it) in modern societies. At the end of the paper, for a
more systematic exam of this point, we provide a table analysis
comparing the main axioms of both theories.

This paper offers an introduction in religious market theory on the basis of the theme of conversion. Conversions have everything to do with the religious market. Where people are looking for religious satisfaction, they will turn themselves to religious organisations that are willing to give that on certain conditions. Starting from the assumption of the rational actor, the theory makes some strong hypotheses on religious organisations and the religious market. What does the religious market look like, what are the basic characteristics of this market, and how can religious organisations interact with that market? However, when we discuss social scientific research on conversion in Europe, the limits of religious market theory come to the fore. In the conclusion, the main questions that arise
from religious market theory for the project Conversion Careers and Culture Politics in Pentecostalism are being discussed.

This article tries to highlight some problematic views connected with Rodney Stark’s application of „religious market model“ in the context of the late antique world. It seems that:
1) Stark’s general assessment about the character of the religious market of the Roman empire is incorrect (the market is pluralistic, but not unregulated); 2) his theory does not cover
full spectrum of potential producers of religious product (especially producers of collective goods of non-exclusive character); 3) his theory excludes „firms“ belonging to the state and city public cults; 4) his statistical evaluations are based on unknown statistical data; 5) there are some opinions in his narrative that appear to be uncritically favoring Christian attitudes and achievements and denigrating the pagan ones, which does not, in my opinion, meet requirements of scientific objectivity and impartiality