Contemporary Consumer Religion

DUNNE_THC.MATIC

Critically evaluate the claim, that contemporary consumer society is more of a dissipation of religion, than religion in a new form?

1. The purpose of this essay is to examine if contemporary consumer society is dissipating religion, or is it that religion has adapted itself to it and if it is dissipating its values throughout it.

2. The question will be examined in the light of early modernity and contemporary sociological, and theological trends and their effects on religion.

Modern sociocultural systems originated in post-Feudal Europe in the commercial and industrial revolution, when centres of economic production gradually shifted from the countryside to the burgeoning cities, and according to Harper in the late 19th and

Religions must share the blame for the conditions it now faces in modern society. For it too has fallen prey to the seduction of the markets and to the liberal attitude to morality within society. Many people have claimed that their loss of support for the churches has come from the sex abuse scandals that have come to light over the last number of years. In a survey done as to why people leave the Catholic Church in Sweden it was found that this was one of the reasons given. “It was also pointed out that leaving the church is a process during which typically one’s own religiosity decreases and negative experiences and events (e.g.

Lynch tells us “that the use of spirituality involves a number of complex levels of engagement. While appearing to endorse the values of the ancient traditions that it is alluding to, such moves represent little more than a silent takeover of religion.” Despite the case made for the demise of religion in the contemporary consumer society, a case could be made for a resurgence of religion. Such a religion may not resemble religion as understood in today’s terms, where spiritualties are disconnected from one another. or of a system that is considered to be universally within a religion with ‘a creed‘ and beliefs and a ‘dogma’ that distinguish members of religious group from other people. Such criteria would seem to negate the possibility of any attempt to form a new religion, however, all of the major religions contain within them a strong emphasis on