Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology
- Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology
- The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Introduction
- 1 Consumer Psychology of Individuals
- 2 Consumer Psychology of Groups and Society
- 10 Interpersonal Influences in Consumer Psychology
- 11 The Psychology of Consumer Social Hierarchy and Rank Signaling
- 12 Political Ideology and Consumer Psychology
- 13 Religion and Consumer Psychology
- 14 The Psychology of Consumer Dignity
- 15 The Psychology of Shared Consumption
- 16 The Psychology of Access-Based Consumption
- 17 Word-of-Mouth and Consumer Psychology
- 18 Consumer Culture
- 3 Methods for Understanding Consumer Psychology
- Index
- References
13 - Religion and Consumer Psychology
from 2 - Consumer Psychology of Groups and Society
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 March 2023
Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology
- Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology
- The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Introduction
- 1 Consumer Psychology of Individuals
- 2 Consumer Psychology of Groups and Society
- 10 Interpersonal Influences in Consumer Psychology
- 11 The Psychology of Consumer Social Hierarchy and Rank Signaling
- 12 Political Ideology and Consumer Psychology
- 13 Religion and Consumer Psychology
- 14 The Psychology of Consumer Dignity
- 15 The Psychology of Shared Consumption
- 16 The Psychology of Access-Based Consumption
- 17 Word-of-Mouth and Consumer Psychology
- 18 Consumer Culture
- 3 Methods for Understanding Consumer Psychology
- Index
- References
Summary
Although religion is an important part of daily life for many consumers, only limited research has examined how it functions in consumer settings. This chapter proposes an organizing framework for understanding the intersection between religion and consumer behavior. We first define key constructs related to religion, before discussing common methodological paradigms for studying religion in consumer spaces. We then review prior research on religion and consumer behavior along two dimensions: (1) how consumption shapes the experience of religion, and (2) how religion shapes the consumption process. We close with a discussion of open questions related to religion and consumption, and directions for future research.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology , pp. 364 - 386Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023
References
Ahuvia, A. C. (2005). Beyond the extended self: Loved objects and consumers’ identity narratives. Journal of Consumer Research, 32(1), 17–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allport, G. W., & Ross, J. M. (1967). Personal religious orientation and prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5(4), 432–443.Google Scholar
Appau, S., Ozanne, J. L., & Klein, J. G. (2020). Understanding difficult consumer transitions: The in/dividual consumer in permanent liminality. Journal of Consumer Research, 47(2), 167–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Atran, S., & Norenzayan, A. (2004). Religion’s evolutionary landscape: Counterintuition, commitment, compassion, communion. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 27(6), 713–730.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bailey, J. M., & Sood, J. (1993). The effects of religious affiliation on consumer behavior: A preliminary investigation. Journal of Managerial Issues, 5(3), 328–352.Google Scholar
Beck, J. T., Rahinel, R., & Bleier, A. (2020). Company worth keeping: Personal control and preferences for brand leaders. Journal of Consumer Research, 46(5), 871–886.Google Scholar
Belk, R. W. (1988). Possessions and the extended self. Journal of Consumer Research, 15(2), 139–168.Google Scholar
Belk, R. W. (1992). Moving possessions: An analysis based on personal documents from the 1847–1869 Mormon migration. Journal of Consumer Research, 19(3), 339–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belk, R. W., SherryJr., J. F., & Wallendorf, M. (1988). A naturalistic inquiry into buyer and seller behavior at a swap meet. Journal of Consumer Research, 14(4), 449–470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belk, R., & Tumbat, G. (2005). The cult of Macintosh. Consumption Markets & Culture, 8(3), 205–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belk, R. W., Wallendorf, M., & SherryJr., J. F. (1989). The sacred and the profane in consumer behavior: Theodicy on the odyssey. Journal of Consumer Research, 16(1), 1–38.Google Scholar
Benjamin, D. J., Choi, J. J., & Fisher, G. (2016). Religious identity and economic behavior. Review of Economics and Statistics, 98(4), 617–637.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Benson, P., & Spilka, B. (1973). God image as a function of self-esteem and locus of control. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 12(3), 297–310.Google Scholar
Burroughs, J. E., & Rindfleisch, A. (2002). Materialism and well-being: A conflicting values perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 29(3), 348–370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Casidy, R., Duhachek, A., Singh, V., & Tamaddoni, A. (2021). Religious belief, religious priming, and negative word-of-mouth in everyday service failure encounters. Journal of Marketing Research, 58(4), 762–781.Google Scholar
Cheng, Y., Mukhopadhyay, A., & Schrift, R. Y. (2017). Do costly options lead to better outcomes? How the Protestant Work Ethic influences the cost–benefit heuristic in goal pursuit. Journal of Marketing Research, 54(4), 636–649.Google Scholar
Coleman, T. J. III, HoodJr., R. W., & Streib, H. (2018). An introduction to atheism, agnosticism, and nonreligious worldviews. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 10(3), 203–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cutright, K. M. (2012). The beauty of boundaries: When and why we seek structure in consumption. Journal of Consumer Research, 38(5), 775–790.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cutright, K. M., Erdem, T., Fitzsimons, G. J., & Shachar, R. (2014). Finding brands and losing your religion? Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(6), 2209–2222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dolbec, P. Y., Castilhos, R., Fonseca, M. J., & Trez, G. (2022). How established organizations combine logics to reconfigure resources and adapt to marketization: A case study on Brazilian religious schools. Journal of Marketing Research, 59(1), 118–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doran, C. J., & Natale, S. M. (2011). ἐμπάθεια (Empatheia) and caritas: The role of religion in fair trade consumption. Journal of Business Ethics, 98(1), 1–15.Google Scholar
Essoo, N., & Dibb, S. (2004). Religious influences on shopping behaviour: An exploratory study. Journal of Marketing Management, 20(7–8), 683–712.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garssen, B., Visser, A., & Pool, G. (2021). Does spirituality or religion positively affect mental health? Meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 31(1), 4–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gervais, W. M., & Norenzayan, A. (2012). Like a camera in the sky? Thinking about God increases public self-awareness and socially desirable responding. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(1), 298–302.Google Scholar
Grewal, L., Wu, E. C., & Cutright, K. M. (2022). Loved as-is: How God salience lowers interest in self-improvement products. Journal of Consumer Research, 49(1), 154–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hackney, C. H., & Sanders, G. S. (2003). Religiosity and mental health: A meta–analysis of recent studies. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 42(1), 43–55.Google Scholar
Hirschman, E. C., Ruvio, A. A., & Touzani, M. (2011). Breaking bread with Abraham’s children: Christians, Jews and Muslims’ holiday consumption in dominant, minority and diasporic communities. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(3), 429–448.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HoodJr., R. W., Hill, P. C., & Spilka, B. (2018). The Psychology of Religion: An Empirical Approach. Guilford Publications.Google Scholar
Hyodo, J. D., & Bolton, L. E. (2021). How does religion affect consumer response to failure and recovery by firms? Journal of Consumer Research, 47(5), 807–828.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Izberk-Bilgin, E. (2012). Infidel brands: Unveiling alternative meanings of global brands at the nexus of globalization, consumer culture, and Islamism. Journal of Consumer Research, 39(4), 663–687.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
James, W. (1902/2002). The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature (2nd ed.). Routledge.Google Scholar
Janoff-Bulman, R. (1992). Shattered Assumptions: Towards a New Psychology of Trauma. Free Press.Google Scholar
Johnson, K. A., Minton, E. A., & McClernon, M. P. (2021). Recycling, relatedness, and reincarnation: Religious beliefs about nature and the afterlife as predictors of sustainability practices. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/rel0000407Google Scholar
Kalliny, M., Minton, E. A., & Benmamoun, M. (2018). Affect as a driver to religious‐based consumer boycotts: Evidence from qualitative and quantitative research in the United States. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 42(6), 840–853.Google Scholar
Karataş, M., & Gürhan-Canli, Z. (2020). A construal level account of the impact of religion and God on prosociality. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 46(7), 1107–1120.Google Scholar
Kay, A. C., Gaucher, D., Napier, J. L., Callan, M. J., & Laurin, K. (2008). God and the government: Testing a compensatory control mechanism for the support of external systems. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(1), 18.Google Scholar
Keysar, A., & Navarro-Rivera, J. (2017). 36. A world of atheism: Global demographics. In Bullivant, S., & Ruse, M. (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Atheism (pp. 553–587). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Kozinets, R. V. (2001). Utopian enterprise: Articulating the meanings of Star Trek’s culture of consumption. Journal of Consumer Research, 28(1), 67–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kozinets, R. V., & Handelman, J. M. (2004). Adversaries of consumption: Consumer movements, activism, and ideology. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(3), 691–704.Google Scholar
Kupor, D. M., Laurin, K., & Levav, J. (2015). Anticipating divine protection? Reminders of God can increase nonmoral risk taking. Psychological Science, 26(4), 374–384.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kurt, D., Inman, J. J., & Gino, F. (2018). Religious shoppers spend less money. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 78, 116–124.Google Scholar
La Barbera, P. A., & Gürhan, Z. (1997). The role of materialism, religiosity, and demographics in subjective well‐being. Psychology & Marketing, 14(1), 71–97.3.0.CO;2-L>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lastovicka, J. L., Bettencourt, L. A., Hughner, R. S., & Kuntze, R. J. (1999). Lifestyle of the tight and frugal: Theory and measurement. Journal of Consumer Research, 26(1), 85–98.Google Scholar
Laurin, K., Kay, A. C., & Fitzsimons, G. M. (2012). Divergent effects of activating thoughts of God on self-regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(1), 4–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mathras, D., Cohen, A. B., Mandel, N., & Mick, D. G. (2016). The effects of religion on consumer behavior: A conceptual framework and research agenda. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 26(2), 298–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McAlexander, J. H., Dufault, B. L., Martin, D. M., & Schouten, J. W. (2014). The marketization of religion: Field, capital, and consumer identity. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(3), 858–875.Google Scholar
McCracken, G. (1989). Who is the celebrity endorser? Cultural foundations of the endorsement process. Journal of Consumer Research, 16(3), 310–321.Google Scholar
McGraw, P. A., Schwartz, J. A., & Tetlock, P. E. (2012). From the commercial to the communal: Reframing taboo trade-offs in religious and pharmaceutical marketing. Journal of Consumer Research, 39(1), 157–173.Google Scholar
McGregor, I., Nash, K., & Prentice, M. (2010). Reactive approach motivation (RAM) for religion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(1), 148–161.Google Scholar
Mehta, R., & Belk, R. W. (1991). Artifacts, identity, and transition: Favorite possessions of Indians and Indian immigrants to the United States. Journal of Consumer Research, 17(4), 398–411.Google Scholar
Miller, A. J., & WorthingtonJr., E. L. (2013). Connection between personality and religion and spirituality. In Aten, J., O’Grady, K., & Worthington, Jr., E. (Eds.). The Psychology of Religion and Spirituality for Clinicians (pp. 115–144). Routledge.Google Scholar
Minton, E. A., Johnson, K. A., Vizcaino, M., & Wharton, C. (2020). Is it godly to waste food? How understanding consumers’ religion can help reduce consumer food waste. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 54(4), 1246–1269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minton, E. A., & Kahle, L. R. (2013). Religion and consumer behaviour. In Jansson-Boyd, C. V., & Zawisza, M. J. (Eds.). Routledge International Handbook of Consumer Psychology (pp. 310–329). Routledge.Google Scholar
Minton, E. A., Kahle, L. R., & Kim, C. H. (2015). Religion and motives for sustainable behaviors: A cross-cultural comparison and contrast. Journal of Business Research, 68(9), 1937–1944.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minton, E. A., Xie, H. J., Gurel‐Atay, E., & Kahle, L. R. (2018). Greening up because of god: The relations among religion, sustainable consumption and subjective well‐being. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 42(6), 655–663.Google Scholar
Moisio, R., & Beruchashvili, M. (2010). Questing for well-being at Weight Watchers: The role of the spiritual-therapeutic model in a support group. Journal of Consumer Research, 36(5), 857–875.Google Scholar
MunizJr., A. M., & Schau, H. J. (2005). Religiosity in the abandoned Apple Newton brand community. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(4), 737–747.Google Scholar
Netzer, O., Lemaire, A., & Herzenstein, M. (2019). When words sweat: Identifying signals for loan default in the text of loan applications. Journal of Marketing Research, 56(6), 960–980.Google Scholar
Newton, J. D., Wong, J., & Casidy, R. (2018). Deck the halls with boughs of holly to soften evaluations of service failure. Journal of Service Research, 21(4), 389–404.Google Scholar
O’Guinn, T. C., & Belk, R. W. (1989). Heaven on earth: Consumption at Heritage Village, USA. Journal of Consumer Research, 16(2), 227–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Park, C. L. (2005). Religion as a meaning‐making framework in coping with life stress. Journal of Social Issues, 61(4), 707–729.Google Scholar
Pennebaker, J. W., & Stone, L. D. (2004). Translating traumatic experiences into language: Implications for child abuse and long-term health. In Koenig, L. J., Doll, L. S., O’Leary, A., & Pequegnat, W. (Eds.). From Child Sexual Abuse to Adult Sexual Risk: Trauma, Revictimization, and Intervention (pp. 201–216). American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Pew Research Center. (2015, November 3). U.S. public becoming less religious. www.pewforum.org/2015/11/03/u-s-public-becoming-less-religious/Google Scholar
Pew Research Center. (2017, April 5). The changing global religious landscape. www.pewforum.org/2017/04/05/the-changing-global-religious-landscape/Google Scholar
Pew Research Center. (2021, January 14). Measuring religion in Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel. www.pewforum.org/2021/01/14/measuring-religion-in-pew-research-centers-american-trends-panel/Google Scholar
Powell, L. H., Shahabi, L., & Thoresen, C. E. (2003). Religion and spirituality: Linkages to physical health. American Psychologist, 58(1), 36–52.Google Scholar
Preston, J. L., & Baimel, A. (2021). Towards a psychology of religion and the environment. Current Opinion in Psychology, 40, 145–149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Preston, J. L., & Ritter, R. S. (2013). Different effects of religion and God on prosociality with the ingroup and outgroup. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39(11), 1471–1483.Google Scholar
Rindfleisch, A., Wong, N., & Burroughs, J. E. (2010). God & Mammon: The influence of religiosity on brand connections. In Wuyts, S. H. K., Dekimpe, M. G., Gijsbrechts, E., & Pieters, F. G. M. (Eds.). The Connected Customer: The Changing Nature of Consumer and Business Markets (pp. 163–202). Routledge.Google Scholar
Rowatt, W., & Kirkpatrick, L. A. (2002). Two dimensions of attachment to God and their relation to affect, religiosity, and personality constructs. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 41(4), 637–651.Google Scholar
Rutchick, A. M. (2010). Deus ex machina: The influence of polling place on voting behavior. Political Psychology, 31(2), 209–225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rye, M. S., Pargament, K. I., Ali, M. A., et al. (2000). Religious perspectives on forgiveness. In McCullough, M. E., Pargament, K. I., & Thoresen, C. E. (Eds.). Forgiveness: Theory, Research, and Practice (pp. 17–40). Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Sandikci, Ö., & Ger, G. (2010). Veiling in style: How does a stigmatized practice become fashionable? Journal of Consumer Research, 37(1), 15–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sandstrom, A. (2017, August 17). God or the divine is referenced in every state constitution. Pew Research Center, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/08/17/god-or-the-divine-is-referenced-in-every-state-constitution/Google Scholar
Saroglou, V., & Muñoz‐García, A. (2008). Individual differences in religion and spirituality: An issue of personality traits and/or values. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 47(1), 83–101.Google Scholar
Saroglou, V., Corneille, O., & Van Cappellen, P. (2009). “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening”: Religious priming activates submissive thoughts and behaviors. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 19(3), 143–154.Google Scholar
Schnabel, L., & Schieman, S. (2022). Religion protected mental health but constrained crisis response during crucial early days of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 61(2), 530–543.Google Scholar
Schonfeld, B., & Winter-Levy, S. (2020, August 27). The pandemic is making people more religious. The Boston Globe, www.bostonglobe.com/2020/08/27/opinion/pandemic-is-making-people-more-religious/Google Scholar
Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the structure and content of values. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 25, 1–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwartz, S. H., & Huismans, S. (1995). Value priorities and religiosity in four Western religions. Social Psychology Quarterly, 15(2), 88–107.Google Scholar
Shachar, R., Erdem, T., Cutright, K. M., & Fitzsimons, G. J. (2011). Brands: The opiate of the nonreligious masses? Marketing Science, 30(1), 92–110.Google Scholar
Shariff, A. F., & Norenzayan, A. (2007). God is watching you: Priming God concepts increases prosocial behavior in an anonymous economic game. Psychological Science, 18(9), 803–809.Google Scholar
Shariff, A. F., Willard, A. K., Andersen, T., & Norenzayan, A. (2016). Religious priming: A meta-analysis with a focus on prosociality. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 20(1), 27–48.Google Scholar
Shepherd, S., & Kay, A. C. (2019). ‘Jesus, take the wheel’: The appeal of spiritual products in satiating concerns about randomness. Journal of Marketing Management, 35(5–6), 467–490.Google Scholar
Sherry, J. F., & Kozinets, R. V. (2007). Comedy of the commons: Nomadic spirituality and the Burning Man festival. In Belk, R. W., & Sherry, J. F. (Eds.). Consumer Culture Theory (pp. 119–147). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.Google Scholar
Soenke, M., Landau, M. J., & Greenberg, J. (2013). Sacred armor: Religion’s role as a buffer against the anxieties of life and the fear of death. In Pargament, K. I., Exline, J. J., & Jones, J. W. (Eds.). APA Handbook of Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality (Vol. 1): Context, Theory, and Research (pp. 105–122). American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Srull, T. K., & Wyer, R. S. (1979). The role of category accessibility in the interpretation of information about persons: Some determinants and implications. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(10), 1660–1672.Google Scholar
Starr, M. (2012). God of Love: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Monkfish Book Publishing.Google Scholar
Uhlmann, E. L., Poehlman, T. A., Tannenbaum, D., & Bargh, J. A. (2011). Implicit Puritanism in American moral cognition. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47(2), 312–320.Google Scholar
Van Elk, M., Matzke, D., Gronau, Q., Guang, M., Vandekerckhove, J., & Wagenmakers, E. J. (2015). Meta-analyses are no substitute for registered replications: A skeptical perspective on religious priming. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, Article 1365.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vitell, S. J., Singh, J. J., & Paolillo, J. G. P. (2007). Consumers’ ethical beliefs: The roles of money, religiosity and attitude toward business. Journal of Business Ethics 73, 369–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watanabe, S., & Laurent, S. M. (2021). Past its prime? A methodological overview and critique of religious priming research in social psychology. Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion, 6(1–2), 22–46.Google Scholar
Weinberger, M. F. (2015). Dominant consumption rituals and intragroup boundary work: How non-celebrants manage conflicting relational and identity goals. Journal of Consumer Research, 42(3), 378–400.Google Scholar
Wilkes, R. E., Burnett, J. J., & Howell, R. D. (1986). On the meaning and measurement of religiosity in consumer research. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 14(1), 47–56.Google Scholar
WorthingtonJr., E. L. (2005). Initial questions about the art and science of forgiving. In WorthingtonJr., E. L. (Ed.). Handbook of Forgiveness (pp. 1–14). Routledge.Google Scholar
Worthington, Jr., Wade, E. L., Hight, N. G., et al, T. L.. (2003). The Religious Commitment Inventory--10: Development, refinement, and validation of a brief scale for research and counseling. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50(1), 84–96.Google Scholar
Wu, E. C., & Cutright, K. M. (2018). In God’s hands: How reminders of God dampen the effectiveness of fear appeals. Journal of Marketing Research, 55(1), 119–131.Google Scholar