[4.1] Religious market theory Flashcards
Who developed religious market theory?
Stark and Bainbridge (1985).
What are the two assumptions of religious market theory?
- People are naturally religious and religion meets human needs, so the demand for religion is constant.
- It is human nature to seek rewards and avoid costs.
Why is religion attractive?
It offers rewards/compensators when real life rewards are scarce.
What cycle do Stark and Bainbridge (1985) suggest?
A cycle of continuous decline, revival and renewal throughout history.
What view do religious market theorists take?
Competition between religions increases religiosity.
What does competition do to religious ‘goods’?
It increases the quality of them, so churches with more attractive ‘products’ will gain more ‘customers’ for example.
When and why does the demand for religion increase?
When there are multiple religious beliefs to choose from, because individuals can find one that meets their needs.
Why does religion decline when one religion has a monopoly of the truth?
There is no incentive for the religion to ‘better’ itself, so people simply leave.
Why does religion thrive in America?
No religion has ever had a monopoly of the truth as the constitution separates religion and the state.
In Europe, there was a religious monopoly at one point. What does this mean for religion now?
Religion is declining now, as the religion had no incentive to meet the needs of it’s followers.
What do Stark and Bainbridge (1985) argue in relation to supply and demand?
When supply is high, religious participation is too. When supply is low, there is no demand.
Stark and Bainbridge (1985) argue that the decline of religion is what?
Eurocentric.
What did Hadden and Shupe (1998) find?
The growth of televangelism in the USA opened up competition, from which evangelical churches thrive from.
What can large congregations such as the megachurches found in South Korea do?
They can meet their members’ diverse needs.
Give three criticisms of religious market theory.
- Statistics show that diversity has been accompanied by decline in both Europe and America.
- Norris and Inglehart (2004) show that high levels of religious participation exist in Catholic countries such as Ireland, yet where there is religious pluralism there is low participation.
- Beckford criticises religious market theory as non-sociological as it doesn’t explain why people make the choices they do.
