Religious Market Theory

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  • Religious Market Theory
    • Stark & Bainbridge (1986)
      • Very critical of secularisation theory - see it as Eurocentric
      • Argue there was no 'golden age' of religion in the past, as secularisation theory implies
      • They propose the religious market theory
    • This theory is based on two assumptions
      • People are naturally religious & religion meets human needs
        • Therefore overall demand of religion remains constant
      • It is human nature to seek rewards & avoid costs
        • When people make choices they way up costs & benefits
    • Compensators
      • Religion is attractive because it provides compensators
        • When real rewards are unobtainable, religion compensates by promising supernatural ones
      • Non-religious ideologies don't provide credible compensators because they don't promise supernatural ones
      • The Cycle of Renewal
        • Concept of a cycle of religious decline, revival & renewal
          • Describes a cycle where some religions decline & others grow
      • Religious Competition
        • Churches operate like companies selling goods in a market
        • Competition leads to improvement in the quality of religious 'goods' on offer
        • Churches that make their goods attractive will succeed in attractive more 'customers'
    • America vs Europe
      • Believe religion thrives in USA because there's never been religious monopoly there
        • The Consitution guarantees freedom of religion & the separation of church & state - always been variety of religions to choose from
          • Encouraged growth of healthy religious market
      • Most European countries have been dominated by official state church which has religious monopoly
        • Competition has held back & lack of choice has led to decline
    • Criticisms
      • Bruce (2011) rejects view that diversity & competition increase demand for religion
        • Statistics show diversity has been accompanied by religious decline in in both Europe & America
      • Norris & Inglehart (2011) shows that high levels of religious participation exist in Catholic countries where the church has a near monopoly
      • Beckford criticises RMT as unsociological because it assumes people are naturally religious & fails to explain why they make the choices they do

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Religious market theory is a type of business management that integrates religious variables into the market analysis and decision-making processes. We are providing you https://manchestermortgages.co.uk/" for your latest mortgage review. Religious variables are those variables that are companies' most important assets. Market factors such as shortage, competition and demand for a specific product or service are analyzed in order to get insight into religious market factors.

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