Religious market theory
- A range of studies support S+B’s view that the demand for religion is influenced by the marketisation of religion providing the breadth and depth of quality and variety of religion on offer
- the marketisation of religion is merely supply the religion people needs/demand (supply and demand led economics)
- Hadden and Shupe argue that the growth of televangelism in America shows the level of religious participation is supply- led
- The commercial funding of religious broadcasts opened up competition where evangelical churches thrived
- Finke argues that the lifting of restrictions on Asian immigration into America in the 1960s allowed Asian religions to permanently set up in the USA.
- This allowed Asian faiths to become another popular option for consumers in the religious market place.
Criticisms of market theory – evaluation
- Stats show that diversity has been accompanied by religious decline in Europe and ‘murica.
- It assumes that people are naturally religious and fails to explain why
- It highlights the supply side of religion and consumer choice, and can be useful for understanding the growth of new religions
- Bruce argues that S+B misinterpret the secularisation theory as the theory doesn’t claim there is a ‘golden age’ of religion.
sociologytwynham.com 
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