Neoliberal Religion: Faith and Power in the Twenty-first Century
Ebook
This book explores neoliberalism as an account of contemporary society and considers what this means for our understanding of religion.
Neoliberalism is a perspective grounded in free market economics and distinguished by a celebration of competition and consumer choice. It has had a profound influence in societies across the world, and has extended its reach into all areas of human experience. And yet neoliberalism is not just about enterprise and opportunity. It also comes with authoritarian leadership, gross inequality and the manipulation of information. How should we make sense of these changes, and what do they mean for the status of religion in the 21st century? Has religion been transformed into a market commodity or consumer product? Does the embrace of business methods make religious movements more culturally relevant, or can they be used to reinforce inequalities of gender or ethnicity? How might neoliberal contexts demand we think differently about matters of religious identity and power?
This book provides an accessible discussion about religion in the 21st century. Mathew Guest asks what distinguishes neoliberal religion and explores the sociological and ethical questions that arise from considering its wider significance.
Explores neo-liberalism as an account of contemporary western society and considers what this means for our understanding of religion.
Fills a gap in the literature by engaging with key issues relevant to understanding religion in contemporary Western societies
Approaches religion in a neo-liberal context through political, economic and cultural lenses in a variety of Christian, Muslim, and secular-influenced settings
Includes a glossary and suggested further reading to help make the content accessible to undergraduate students
Written by a leading scholar in the sociology of religion
Table of Contents
List of Images
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Religion in a Neo-liberal Age
2. Religion and the Market: Religious Diversity in Neoliberal Contexts
3. Religion and Populism
4. Religion in the Post-truth Era
5. Securitization: New Forms of State Engagement
6. Religion and the Entrepreneurial Self
7. Power and Religious Difference
8. The Secular and the Non-Religious in Neoliberal Contexts
9. Retrieving Ethics for the Sociology of Religion
Bibliography
Index
This book explores neoliberal culture and its impact on religious identities. The social scientific study of religion must adapt accordingly if we are to comprehend current trends. A series of innovative – and sometimes unexpected examples – brings the debate to life, not least its ethical implications. This is a book to ponder carefully.
Mathew Guest directs our attention to the fact that our era is traversed by market ideologies and imaginaries in the guise of neoliberalism and consumerism, and that this is crucial for understanding religion. Using a cultural approach that considers religion in wider society rather than looking at it in isolation, he perspicaciously analyses the way in which neoliberalism affects religion through discussions on marketization, populism, the rise of “post-truth” claims, securitization and the entrepreneurial self. It should be widely read.
- Title: Neoliberal Religion: Faith and Power in the Twenty-first Century
- Author: Mathew Guest
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2022
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781350116412, 9781350116382, 1350116386, 1350116416
- Resource ID: LLS:9781350116412
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-04-11T00:20:52Z
Mathew Guest is Professor in the Sociology of Religion at Durham University, UK. He is the co-author of Christianity and the University Experience: Understanding Student Faith (2013) and Islam on Campus: Contested identities and the Cultures of Higher Education in Britain (2020). He is the author of Evangelical Identity and Contemporary Culture (2007).