Religion, Consumerism and Sustainability - (Consumption and Public Life) by L Thomas (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This collection analyses relationships between religious and consumption practices and cultures, and their diverse responses to ecological crisis, ranging from indifference to engagement. The book includes contributions on Japan, Israel, Iran, Slovakia and Britain"--

Book Synopsis

To varying degrees, classic religions are associated with critique of materialistic values. Onto this opposition of the market and the temple other binaries have been grafted, so that 'North' and the 'West' are portrayed as secular and materialistic, 'South' and 'East' either as 'tigers' pursuing western-style affluence and economic growth or locked into retrospective fundamentalisms. These characterisations are called into question in a context of diversity and global movements of peoples and goods. In this collection this complexity is addressed in an analysis of the interconnections between religious and consumption practices and cultures, and the ways in which both are responding to the ecological threat posed by continuous economic growth. International in scope, the book combines empirical and theoretical work in its attempt to interrogate the traditional opposition of spiritual and materialistic values, and to explore the interplay of religious and consuming passions in contemporary cultures. This analysis leads to a consideration of the ways in which religions and secular spiritualities can contribute to a new ecological consciousness, and to the adoption of less destructive and rapacious ways of life.

About the Author

CLIVE BARNETT is Reader in Human Geography at the Open University in Milton Keynes, UK GUY BEN-PORAT is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Public Policy and Administration in Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel ZUZANA BÚRIKOVÁ is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute of Ethnology at the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava, Slovakia NICHOLAS BUXTON is a Minor Canon of Ripon Cathedral, UK. He was one of the participants in BBC2's The Monastery, and has a PhD in Buddhist philosophy NICK CLARKE is Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Southampton, UK PAUL CLOKE is Professor of Geography at the University of Exeter, UK HOSSEIN GODAZGAR is an Honorary Visiting Fellow in Politics at the University of York, UK KAVERI HARRISS is a Research Fellow at the Department of Anthropology, Sussex University, UK TIM JACKSON is Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey, UK and Director of RESOLVE - the ESRC Research group on Lifestyles, Values and Environment ALICE MALPASS is Research Associate at the University of Bristol, UK and works in the Academic Unit of Primary Health Care SHARMINA MAWANI is Lecturer at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, UK and is Vice-President of the Gujarat Studies Association, which she co-founded in 2005 ANJOOM MUKADAM is Lecturer at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, UK OMRI SHAMIR is a PhD Candidate in the department of Public Policy and Administration, Guilford GlazerSchool of Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel