According to the authors (Jeremy Carrette and Richard King) the aim of this book was to show the exploitation of the spiritual, and to highlight how the esoteric has become a powerful commodity in the global marketplace. In an attempt to bring the idea of capitalist spirituality to a wider audience, Carrette and King say that they have attempted to approach this topic in a way that is more simple and accessible than traditional academic monographs. In this latter challenge, they fail miserably! Their claim of a ‘narrative style’ would only be accurate if one were used to overhearing stuffy Oxford Professors having conversations about subjects such as neoliberal ideology. But in its endeavour to expose the commodification of spiritual values, it definitely succeeds.
This book examines the growing commercialisation of spirituality, in forms such as feng shui, aromatherapy, yoga and New Age gurus. There is a quote in it which says, ‘We live out our relation to our ultimate meaning through what and how we buy. Let the integration of faith and economy be the mark of the true spiritual seeker today, a consuming faith.’ (Tom Beaudoin – Consuming Faith) I do hope that’s supposed to be sarcasm, but I fear that it’s not! I feel that this type of attitude is what the authors are trying to warn us about.
It’s not a gripping book, but it raises important questions about big businesses and the media (which is often owned by the same corporations) and their effect upon our spiritual ideals and outlook. The authors argue against the exploitation of religious concepts as marketing tools. They say that products such as Zen deodorant and Samsara perfume are clothed in an aura of mysticism and mystique, at the expense of the values that they represent. And in our own supermarkets here in Australia, it’s easy to see that this proliferation of esoteric branding is commonplace.
Carrette and King spend a lot of time attempting to define ‘spirituality’ and religion’, only to confuse us more with terminology such as ‘ontological transcendence’. Fortunately though, once all this is out the way, some more great quotes come along, such as, ‘Alongside TVs, hi-fi systems, washing machines, IKEA furniture and designer clothes, you can also have your very own spirituality, with or without crystals!’ and ‘consumerism is no longer presented as a challenge to traditional religious sensibilities, because you can now buy it wholesale and ignore the corporate links to poverty and social injustice.’
The rest of the book seemed to focus on ‘affluence gurus’ such as Osho Rajneesh (the Rolls Royce guru) and Deepak Chopra, who ‘did not see a problem with the conjoining of individual wealth-acquisition and spiritual advancement.’ The bending of sacred teachings (notably that of Buddhism and Taoism) into capitalistic business models also comes under scrutiny in the latter parts of the book.
Far from being a conspiracy theory about spirituality and corporations, this book is simply about how religion has been repackaged for consumption through the idea of spirituality and how big businesses have used the gloss of spiritual practices to support corporate interests. It’s a warning about not allowing spirituality to be imbued with, or confused with capitalism. The authors call for social justice and sustainable lifestyles as a way of avoiding the excesses of consumerism. This book shows a deep annoyance towards advertisers who misuse spiritual values, but it has been written in such an academic manner (meaning that I often had to refer to my dictionary) that I have to admit that a lot of it went straight over my crown chakra!
We have become a religiously capitalistic society, and ‘Selling Spirituality’ makes me wonder where it is all leading to. One example of where it all might be heading is shown in the book – a 24 year old man put his soul up for sale on E-bay! The final price was only $31, plus $15 for postage, so I guess there’s not much of a market for used souls. But the final word has to go to Confucious, who reminds us that ‘the superior mind understands moral goodness, while the inferior understands only profit.’
Title: Selling Spirituality: the silent takeover of religion
Author: J Carrette & R King
Published by: Routledge 2005
ISBN: 0-415-30209-9
This book examines the growing commercialisation of spirituality, in forms such as feng shui, aromatherapy, yoga and New Age gurus. There is a quote in it which says, ‘We live out our relation to our ultimate meaning through what and how we buy. Let the integration of faith and economy be the mark of the true spiritual seeker today, a consuming faith.’ (Tom Beaudoin – Consuming Faith) I do hope that’s supposed to be sarcasm, but I fear that it’s not! I feel that this type of attitude is what the authors are trying to warn us about.
It’s not a gripping book, but it raises important questions about big businesses and the media (which is often owned by the same corporations) and their effect upon our spiritual ideals and outlook. The authors argue against the exploitation of religious concepts as marketing tools. They say that products such as Zen deodorant and Samsara perfume are clothed in an aura of mysticism and mystique, at the expense of the values that they represent. And in our own supermarkets here in Australia, it’s easy to see that this proliferation of esoteric branding is commonplace.
Carrette and King spend a lot of time attempting to define ‘spirituality’ and religion’, only to confuse us more with terminology such as ‘ontological transcendence’. Fortunately though, once all this is out the way, some more great quotes come along, such as, ‘Alongside TVs, hi-fi systems, washing machines, IKEA furniture and designer clothes, you can also have your very own spirituality, with or without crystals!’ and ‘consumerism is no longer presented as a challenge to traditional religious sensibilities, because you can now buy it wholesale and ignore the corporate links to poverty and social injustice.’
The rest of the book seemed to focus on ‘affluence gurus’ such as Osho Rajneesh (the Rolls Royce guru) and Deepak Chopra, who ‘did not see a problem with the conjoining of individual wealth-acquisition and spiritual advancement.’ The bending of sacred teachings (notably that of Buddhism and Taoism) into capitalistic business models also comes under scrutiny in the latter parts of the book.
Far from being a conspiracy theory about spirituality and corporations, this book is simply about how religion has been repackaged for consumption through the idea of spirituality and how big businesses have used the gloss of spiritual practices to support corporate interests. It’s a warning about not allowing spirituality to be imbued with, or confused with capitalism. The authors call for social justice and sustainable lifestyles as a way of avoiding the excesses of consumerism. This book shows a deep annoyance towards advertisers who misuse spiritual values, but it has been written in such an academic manner (meaning that I often had to refer to my dictionary) that I have to admit that a lot of it went straight over my crown chakra!
We have become a religiously capitalistic society, and ‘Selling Spirituality’ makes me wonder where it is all leading to. One example of where it all might be heading is shown in the book – a 24 year old man put his soul up for sale on E-bay! The final price was only $31, plus $15 for postage, so I guess there’s not much of a market for used souls. But the final word has to go to Confucious, who reminds us that ‘the superior mind understands moral goodness, while the inferior understands only profit.’
Title: Selling Spirituality: the silent takeover of religion
Author: J Carrette & R King
Published by: Routledge 2005
ISBN: 0-415-30209-9
1 comment:
Thank you for your review on this book. I am currently attempt to write my own review for class and frankly, I found the book difficult to read most of the time due to it's phraseology. They write in such an academic fashion that it's not easy to follow even if the subject matter is of interest.
Glad to see it wasn't just me struggling through it. Great review.Thanks
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