Ideology and the Market Metaphor in Rational Choice Theory of Religion: A Rhetorical Critique of ‘Religious Economies’

Despite the many criticisms of the empirical and theoretical adequacy of Rational Choice theory, it continues to have considerable influence and appeal in the sociological study of religion. This article examines the use of the market metaphor and its subsidiary metaphors, with a view to understandi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Critical sociology 2013-07, Vol.39 (4), p.529-543
Main Author: McKinnon, Andrew M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Capitalism
Commodities
Criticism
Ideologies
Ideology
Markets
Metaphor
Metaphors
Neoliberalism
Rational Choice
Religion & politics
Religions
Rhetoric
Sociology
Sociology of religion
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Despite the many criticisms of the empirical and theoretical adequacy of Rational Choice theory, it continues to have considerable influence and appeal in the sociological study of religion. This article examines the use of the market metaphor and its subsidiary metaphors, with a view to understanding how these metaphors work in rational choice theory, and what this might be able to tell us about its enduring influence. I suggest that the metaphor is a useful one for studying religion in a capitalist, commodity oriented society, but when we forget that the ‘religious economy’ is a metaphor, it comes to serve ideological purposes well suited to the neo-liberal agenda. The market (conceived after a neo-conservative fashion) is thereby naturalized and serves to reinforce the ideology of a one-dimensional society.
ISSN:0896-9205
1569-1632
DOI:10.1177/0896920511415431