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Article
Publication date: 25 June 2010

Nazlida Muhamad and Dick Mizerski

There is limited conceptual and theoretical knowledge among marketers and practitioners regarding the measurement of religious influences in consumer market‐place behaviours. The…

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Abstract

Purpose

There is limited conceptual and theoretical knowledge among marketers and practitioners regarding the measurement of religious influences in consumer market‐place behaviours. The purpose of this paper is to review religious factors that appear to influence buyer and consumer behaviour in the light of findings from marketing and religious psychology.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper utilises academic databases to search for marketing and religious psychology papers that deal with influences of religion and constructs that have been suggested to mediate them. Findings from religious psychology are utilised as the backbone for understanding religious influence. The paper also compares and groups terminologies and concepts used in marketing studies, suggesting a holistic view of religion and factors that may mediate religious influences on consumers' market‐place behaviours.

Findings

Five factors of religious influence have been identified. These are commitment, motivation, affiliation, knowledge about a religion and awareness of the social consequences of following a religion. The characteristics, importance and applications of these factors are discussed.

Originality/value

The paper applies knowledge from the area of religious psychology to offer a holistic view in understanding factors that tend to mediate religious influences on consumer behaviours.

Details

Journal of Islamic Marketing, vol. 1 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-0833

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 17 September 2014

Thomas Köllen

Every employee embodies manifestations of every demographic that attach to him or her different minority and majority statuses at the same time. As these statuses are often…

Abstract

Every employee embodies manifestations of every demographic that attach to him or her different minority and majority statuses at the same time. As these statuses are often related to organizational hierarchies, employees frequently hold positions of dominance and subordination at the same time. Thus, a given individual’s coping strategies (or coping behavior) in terms of minority stress due to organizational processes of hierarchization, marginalization, and discrimination, are very often a simultaneous coping in terms of more than one demographic. Research on minority stress mostly focuses on single demographics representing only single facets of workforce diversity. By integrating the demographics of age, disability status, nationality, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, and religion into one framework, the intersectional model proposed in this chapter broadens the perspective on minorities and related minority stress in the workplace. It is shown that coping with minority stress because of one demographic must always be interpreted in relation to the other demographics. The manifestation of one demographic can limit or broaden one’s coping resources for coping with minority stress because of another dimension. Thus, the manifestation of one demographic can determine the coping opportunities and coping behavior one applies to situations because of the minority status of another demographic. This coping behavior can include disclosure decisions about invisible demographics. Therefore, organizational interventions aiming to create a supportive workplace environment and equal opportunities for every employee (e.g., diversity management approaches) should include more demographics instead of focusing only on few.

Details

The Role of Demographics in Occupational Stress and Well Being
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-646-0

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 June 2014

Social identity as shaped by religion or spirituality is unique in comparison to some other social identity dimensions because it may be invisible unless a person wears a symbol…

Abstract

Social identity as shaped by religion or spirituality is unique in comparison to some other social identity dimensions because it may be invisible unless a person wears a symbol or dress widely regarded as synonymous with a given religious tradition. Yet, some employees choose to fuse their personal and work lives when religion or spirituality is a salient dimension of their social identity. Problems emerge, however, and can make for an awkward fit in the business world.

Perhaps the primary advantage to religion or spirituality at work is potential for high employee morale and residual benefits in enhanced performance. Scholars who research the God gap suggest that abundant and ongoing airing of political and religious difference can benefit everyone. Numerous business organizations endorse respectful pluralism and lived religion, enabling employees to participate in community service activities, retreats with nature walks, physical exercise, meditation, spiritual contemplation, physical space for individual prayer and group discussions throughout the day, faith-related reading materials, and faith leaders to provide counseling. Yet, even though religion is a federally protected class and employers in some parts of the world are mandated to accommodate employees’ religious beliefs and observances so long as no undue hardship on business operations results, this does not mean that conflicts do not arise. To explore religious identity and spirituality with a focus on workplace dynamics, Chapter 11 is divided into subthemes of: what is religious identity?, accommodating faith/spirituality at work, faith/spirituality in organizations and health, the formal religion-spirituality dichotomy, lived religion, and conflicts about faith/spirituality in the workplace.

Details

Practical and Theoretical Implications of Successfully Doing Difference in Organizations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-678-1

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 22 November 2016

Justin Cruickshank

In this paper I argue that the liberal problem of religion, which defines religion in terms of dogmatism or opaque justifications based on ‘revealed truth’, needs to be rethought…

Abstract

Purpose

In this paper I argue that the liberal problem of religion, which defines religion in terms of dogmatism or opaque justifications based on ‘revealed truth’, needs to be rethought as part of a broader problem of dialogue, which does not define religion as uniquely problematic.

Methodology/approach

Habermas argues for religious positions to be translated into ‘generally accessible language’ to incorporate religious citizens into democratic dialogue and resist the domination of instrumental rationality by enhancing ‘solidarity’. I contrast this with Rowan Williams’ and Gadamer’s work.

Findings

Williams conceptualises religion in terms of recognising the finitude of our being, rather than dogmatism or opacity. This recognition, he argues, allows people to transcend the ‘imaginative bereavement’ of seeing others as means. Using Williams, I argue that Habermas misdefines religion, and reinforces the domination of instrumental rationality by treating religion as a means. I then use Gadamer to argue that the points Williams makes about religion can apply to secular positions too by recognising them as traditions subject to finitude.

Originality/value

This is original because it argues that the liberal problem of religion misdefines both religion and secular positions, by not recognising that both are traditions defined by finitude. To reach, dialogically, a ‘fusion of horizons’, where religious and secular people are understood non-instrumentally in their own terms of reference, will take time and not trade on immediately manifest – ‘generally accessible’ – meanings.

Details

Reconstructing Social Theory, History and Practice
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-469-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 November 2011

Philip S. Gorski

In 1967, Robert N. Bellah famously argued that there existed an “American Civil Religion,” which was distinct from churchly religion and captured the “transcendental” dimension of…

Abstract

In 1967, Robert N. Bellah famously argued that there existed an “American Civil Religion,” which was distinct from churchly religion and captured the “transcendental” dimension of the American project. In this chapter, I revisit the civil religion concept and reconstruct it along more Weberian lines. Specifically, I argue that the civil religion tradition is one of three competing traditions for thinking about the proper relationship between religion and politics in America; the other two are religious nationalism and liberal secularism. Whereas liberal secularism envisions a complete separation of the religious and political value spheres, and religious nationalism longs for their (re)unification, civil religion aims for a mediating position of partial separation and productive tension. Following Bellah, I argue that the two central strands of the civil religion tradition have been covenant theology and civic republicanism. The body of the chapter sketches out the development of the tradition across a series of national foundings and refoundings, focusing on the writings of leading civil theologians from John Winthrop and John Adams through Abraham Lincoln and John Dewey to Martin King and Barack Obama. The conclusion advances a normative argument for American civil religion – and against liberal secularism and religious nationalism. I contend that liberalism is highly inclusive but insufficiently solidaristic; that religious nationalism is highly solidaristic but insufficiently inclusive; and that only civil religion strikes a proper balance between individual autonomy and the common good.

Details

Rethinking Obama
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-911-1

Book part
Publication date: 17 September 2014

Christopher J. L. Cunningham

This chapter explores religion and spirituality as a form and source of demographic differences relevant to the study of occupational stress and well-being. The purpose of the…

Abstract

This chapter explores religion and spirituality as a form and source of demographic differences relevant to the study of occupational stress and well-being. The purpose of the chapter is to provide a resource and starting point to occupational health and stress researchers who may be interested in religion/spirituality. A review of critical religion/spirituality concepts is provided, along with a discussion of how religion/spirituality can be integrated into common occupational stress theories and reconciled with commonly studied variables within this domain. A series of future research directions involving religion/spirituality and occupational health and stress are ultimately presented.

Details

The Role of Demographics in Occupational Stress and Well Being
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-646-0

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 3 August 2011

Robert C. Blitt

This chapter is intended to elaborate on the existing academic literature addressing the migration of constitutional ideas. Through an examination of ongoing efforts to enshrine…

Abstract

This chapter is intended to elaborate on the existing academic literature addressing the migration of constitutional ideas. Through an examination of ongoing efforts to enshrine “defamation of religion” as a violation of international human rights, the author confirms that the phenomenon of migration is not restricted to positive constitutional norms, but rather also encompasses negative ideas that ultimately may serve to undermine international and domestic constitutionalism. More specifically, the case study demonstrates that the movement of anti-constitutional ideas is not restricted to the domain of “international security” law, and further, that the vertical axis linking international and domestic law is in fact a two-way channel that permits the transmission of domestic anti-constitutional ideas up to the international level.

In reaching the findings presented herein, the chapter also adds to the universalism–relativism debate by demonstrating that allowances for “plurality consciousness” on the international level may in certain instances undermine fundamental norms previously negotiated and accepted as authoritative by the international community. From this perspective, the movement in favor of prohibiting “defamation of religion” is not merely a case study that helps to expand our understanding of how anti-constitutional ideas migrate, but also indicative of a reenergized campaign to challenge the status, content, and stability of universal human rights norms.

Details

Special Issue Human Rights: New Possibilities/New Problems
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-252-4

Book part
Publication date: 24 November 2010

Boris Vukonić

This chapter discusses the importance and the strength of the interaction between tourism and the Muslim world, as well as the importance of tourism to overcome misunderstanding…

Abstract

This chapter discusses the importance and the strength of the interaction between tourism and the Muslim world, as well as the importance of tourism to overcome misunderstanding between the peoples in Islamic and non-Islamic countries. The objectives of this chapter are to look at the connections between tourism and Islam and to try to determine how these connections may develop. Tourism has brought many changes in Islamic countries. Traditionally conservative religions are particularly sensitive to such changes. This includes the Muslim world, deeply rooted in certain countries and parts of the world. As a precondition for future tourism developments, the tolerance among peoples and religions is of great importance. Better understanding will bring benefit to all.

Details

Tourism in the Muslim World
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-920-6

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 12 December 2011

Brian Paciotti, Peter Richerson, Billy Baum, Mark Lubell, Tim Waring, Richard McElreath, Charles Efferson and Ed Edsten

We investigated the effect of religion on generosity, interpersonal trust, and cooperation by using games developed by experimental economists (Dictator, Trust, and Public Goods)…

Abstract

We investigated the effect of religion on generosity, interpersonal trust, and cooperation by using games developed by experimental economists (Dictator, Trust, and Public Goods). In these experiments, individuals were paired or grouped with unknown strangers to test the degree to which religion promotes prosocial behavior. We evaluated group- and individual-level effects of religion on prosocial behavior across the three games. Although playing the games in a religious setting showed no overall difference as compared to a secular setting, we did find a weak association between some individual-level dimensions of religiosity and behavior in some of the games. The weak association between religion and behavior is consistent with theory and empirical studies using similar measures – the anonymous pairing and grouping of the economic games may moderate individual-level effects of religion. Our research is a strong complement to the empirical literature because the three studies involved a large and diverse sample and used sensitive instruments that have been found to reliably measure prosocial behavior.

Details

The Economics of Religion: Anthropological Approaches
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-228-9

Book part
Publication date: 14 December 2023

Fevziye Bekar and M. Ferhat Özbek

Today, changing business systems, especially the COVID-19 epidemic, and the rapid development of technology have brought the phenomenon of spirituality to a new point. Cyber…

Abstract

Today, changing business systems, especially the COVID-19 epidemic, and the rapid development of technology have brought the phenomenon of spirituality to a new point. Cyber spirituality and dataism are also starting to become the focus of attention in this field. This situation also affects the issue of spirituality in the workplace. While the subject of spirituality in the workplace keeps up with innovations and expands in the literature, the relationship between religion and spirituality continues to be discussed and examined. For this reason, this study aims primarily to explain the relationship between the concept of religion and spirituality. In light of current developments, it is to mention the place of spirituality in the workplace between these two concepts.

Details

Spirituality Management in the Workplace
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-450-0

Keywords

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