Religion, Consumerism And Sustainability: Paradise Lost? (consumption And Public Life)

This collection analyses relationships between religious and consumption practices and cultures, and their diverse responses to ecological crisis, ranging from indifference to engagement. To varying degrees, classic religions are associated with critique of materialistic values. Onto this opposition of the market and the temple other binaries have been grafted, so that 'North' and the 'West' are portrayed as secular and materialistic, 'South' and 'East' either as 'tigers' pursuing western-style affluence and economic growth or locked into retrospective fundamentalisms. These characterisations are called into question in a context of diversity and global movements of peoples and goods. In this collection this complexity is addressed in an analysis of the interconnections between religious and consumption practices and cultures, and the ways in which both are responding to the ecological threat posed by continuous economic growth. International in scope, the book combines empirical and theoretical work in its attempt to interrogate the traditional opposition of spiritual and materialistic values, and to explore the interplay of religious and consuming passions in contemporary cultures. This analysis leads to a consideration of the ways in which religions and secular spiritualities can contribute to a new ecological consciousness, and to the adoption of less destructive and rapacious ways of life Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction....Pages 1-14 Front Matter....Pages 15-15 Consumerism as Theodicy: Religious and Secular Meaning Functions in Modern Society....Pages 17-36 Not Exactly a Selling Point? Religion and Reality TV....Pages 37-54 Living in a Material World: Religious Commodification and Resistance....Pages 55-71 Sustaining Spiritualities in Consumer Cultures....Pages 72-89 Front Matter....Pages 91-91 Faith in Ethical Consumption....Pages 93-114 Islam in the Globalised World: Consumerism and Environmental Ethics in Iran....Pages 115-136 Consumerism in Slovak Catholic Homes....Pages 137-151 ‘What’s Not Spent Is Lost’: Consumption Practices of Pakistani Muslims in Britain....Pages 152-174 From the Parliament to the Market: Political Consumerism and the Fight for Sabbath....Pages 175-193 Back Matter....Pages 195-200 "This collection analyses relationships between religious and consumption practices and cultures, and their diverse responses to ecological crisis, ranging from indifference to engagement. The book includes contributions on Japan, Israel, Iran, Slovakia and Britain"--Provided by publisher