In Ones and Zeroes We Trust?: Money, Religion & Bitcoin

Money demands failh and belief which is shared by a diverse community. There has been widespread recognition in consumer research that there is a search for the sacred in the seemingly profane, in both consumers' pursuit of brands and consumption in general, and in religions' turn to the m...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Humayun, Mariam, Belk, Russell
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Blockchain
Consumer behavior
Digital currencies
Money
Social networks
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Money demands failh and belief which is shared by a diverse community. There has been widespread recognition in consumer research that there is a search for the sacred in the seemingly profane, in both consumers' pursuit of brands and consumption in general, and in religions' turn to the marketplace to compete with other faiths and attractions. Zelizer argues that money is "profoundly influenced by cultural and social structures". In this paper, we explore this connection between religiosity and money through the context of the cryplocurrency Bitcoin. Our findings reveal thai many consumers keep faith in Bitcoin's underlying technology, even though they do lose faith in people. The algorithmic code's neutrality is often pedestalized in contrast to human error. Our contributions here are threefold. First, we provide an analysis how in our digital world, the notion of money may end up changing and come to mimic the secular and agnostic nature of brands. Second, we contribute to understanding how notions of religiosity emerge in this community's search for faith and belief, even though some of their discourses critique religion.
ISSN:0098-9258