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New research at the University of Leicester is investigating the link between faith and consumerism and extent to which spirituality is pitched against materialism.
Findings suggest that believers of different faiths are presented with an ideological dilemma: self control and spiritual fulfilment versus subjective well-being and material fulfilment.
Postgraduate researcher George Patsiaouras of the School of Management is conducting the study in the context of a multi-faith Britain.
His research will analyse how much a person’s faith influences his or her approach to possession of material goods -and the extent to which faith itself has been materialised in a globalised society.
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George said: “The arrival of considerable numbers of Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs in Britain since the sixties has generated a new dimension of the religious scenery. Nowadays, British society assimilates a richly diverse culture and consequently a religiously pluralistic environment in which the conduct of cross-cultural research studies becomes feasible.”
“It is well documented through academic research that modernity and globalization have fostered the emergence of consumer culture as of central importance on individuals’ lives establishing consumption as the basic mean of self-expression in Western developed societies. Moreover, the rise of consumerism together with the freedom of consumer choice and the pursuit of self-interest in the marketplace, has led to a decline in churchgoing and faith in general.
“My research aims to explore to what extent the religious adherence of consumers influences the construction of their identities and thus their consumption preferences. Through research we can draw useful conclusions about the consumption patterns of the faithful from different religions.”
“I mean you will be much happier if you have less things. Because the more you have the more you want.” - Buddhist Priest
“Detach yourself from materialistic way of life. And concentrate mostly on the spiritual way of life” - Hindu Priest
Religious and cultural commitments (especially) of Hindu and Muslim consumers contrast with their everyday consumption activities. Luxurious lifestyles and conspicuous consumption incur the criticism of the religious community which emphasizes that ‘pure intentionality’ and avoidance to consume ‘beyond the limits’ should exemplify the everyday consumption activities of the faithful. The role of commodities is to accomplish human expectations and desires, thus accumulation of wealth and products should be moderate, aiming at virtuous results. However, heightened levels of individualism among young Hindu and Muslims reallocate their awareness of spiritualism and encourage belonging to a ‘commodified culture’, full of objects, services and artificial happiness.”
Consumers can be contaminated by things as greed and desire for status position. These are the main contaminants. - The Chair of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
“My study has found that consumption and religion presents an ideological dilemma for believers. The practice of self-control and austerity as means for spiritual fulfilment on the one hand is met with the profusion of consumer goods which promise subjective well-being, multiple identities and convenience along with material fulfilment on the other.”
“These findings provide the opportunity to re-examine the relationship between faith, organized religion and materialism, secularization of society and commercialization of faith, as aspects of modernity and globalization.”
Georgios joined the School of Management as a PhD student in 2006. Previously, he was awarded an MSc in Marketing by the University of Leicester where he had the chance to study the effect of religiosity on consumption under the supervision of Dr. James Fitchett. Georgios currently examines the phenomenon of conspicuous consumption and its absence from models of consumer decision and evolutionary aspects of consumer behaviour based on the work of Thorstein Veblen.
The research is being presented to the public at the University of Leicester on Thursday 26th June. The Festival of Postgraduate Research introduces employers and the public to the next generation of innovators and cutting-edge researchers, and gives postgraduate researchers the opportunity to explain the real world implications of their research to a wide ranging audience.
More information about the Festival of Postgraduate Research is available at: www.le.ac.uk/gradschool/festival
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