An Unexpected Overlap between Civil Religion and Consumption: The Unseen Role of Conscious Commodity Design
This paper argues that the societally homogenising function attributed to civil religion possibly has, at least in parts, been assumed by conscious commodity design. Inasmuch as conscious commodity design helps to promote consumption, it is argued, it is potentially conducive to the achievement of a...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2017
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| In: |
Journal of religion in Europe
Year: 2017, Volume: 10, Issue: 1/2, Pages: 218-239 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Civil religion
/ Merchandise
/ Design
/ Consumer behavior
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AG Religious life; material religion ZB Sociology |
| Further subjects: | B
Aesthetics
aesthetic experience
civil religion
conscious commodity design
consumption
government
reality-making
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | This paper argues that the societally homogenising function attributed to civil religion possibly has, at least in parts, been assumed by conscious commodity design. Inasmuch as conscious commodity design helps to promote consumption, it is argued, it is potentially conducive to the achievement of a satisfactory level of economic growth, which is considered a national goal in many countries. In this trajectory of argumentation, the role played by aesthetics, or, more specifically, by the consumer’s aesthetic experience therein is moved to the foreground and explored with a small socio-empirical experiment. Based on the findings, a thesis regarding the normative power of conscious commodity design with respect to a normalising of sensory orders in consumers is formulated. Its implications for consumer judgement, notably limiting and determining the consumer’s reality-making, are discussed. |
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| ISSN: | 1874-8929 |
| Contains: | In: Journal of religion in Europe
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/18748929-01002008 |