points to the origin of the use of the market metaphor in Peter Berger's work (62) claims that in the work of D. Martin the use of the market metaphor was as a metaphor, alongside other ones (62)
claims that in her work with D. Martin:
"have found the market metaphor useful, even self-evident, though we have no systematic theoretical market model in mind and certainly do not mean to imply that the dynamic of religious growth can be comprehensively understood in economic terms alone." (63)
market as a normative aspect in modern society affecting religious institutions (63)
"In a world in which the creeping process of commodification affects all spheres of life, from finding a sexual partner to preserving physical fitness, religion is unlikely to escape the imposition of certain market disciplines and the infiltration of explicit market criteria.." (63)
"rather than regarding religion as always and everywhere a marketed commodity, perhaps we should be problematising its commodification in the contemporary world and making it a subject of our enquiries in its own right as Birgit Meyer suggests." (64)
problem of adopting rational choice theory from economics when in fact "Paradoxically,the way modern, or post-modern, consumer markets actually operate, may have more in common with the way religious (and other) identities are currently promoted than the model of economically rational choice in itself would suggest." (65)
"the main problem with rational choice theory as applied to the phenomenon of religious conversion is its privileging of the cognitive and the calculable in a sphere —Pentecostalism in the
present case—where quite other human values are in fact ontologically privileged." (65)
"it is a model that cannot help but carry a secular utilitarian and therefore reductionist implication that researchers in the field of religion should be explicitly aware of." (66)
criticizes Chesnut for doing a further reduction and bringing in Freud "to fill the gap left by the rational choice assumptions" (66) claims that this disrespects the accounts provided by religious practicioners themselves (66)
"The use of the market metaphor in relation to the pattern of recent Pentecostal growth reinforces the apparent plausibility of certain politically negative and even openly hostile images of Pentecostalism as the ideological agent of global, that is American, capitalism in the developing world." (67)
"the growth of Pentecostalism pre-dates the emergence of Catholic liberation theology which may have been promoted, in part at least, as a way of neutralising the appeal of Pentecostalism among the ‘popular classes’," (67)
"To employ the market model, especially in so literal a fashion as Chesnut and Gill do, is to give added weight to the ideological distaste which so many among the educated elites in Latin America and elsewhere express for Pentecostalism as just a function and symptom of the triumph of global capitalism; a ‘market faith’" (67)
"Nor should it be assumed that Neo-Pentecostal groups are uniquely ‘marketised’; yet the market metaphor tends to perpetuate such assumptions." (68)
"To argue that Pentecostalism, like Methodism before it, has the at-least-partly-unintended consequence of delivering economic betterment in conditions set by global capitalism is not the same as to argue that Pentecostalism is a kind of ideological fifth column for global capitalism and it is important to keep the distinction clear." (68)
"An important key to the appeal of Pentecostalism is its ability to take seriously the indigenous spiritist and shamanic traditions," (69)
refers to a fusing of the black spiritual element in Pentecostal spirituality with indigenous and black elements of Latin American culture not wiped out by colonialization (69)
o
nonetheless market metaphor, like all metaphors useful for providing organizing categories as long as reification does not occur (69-70)
o
"This, of course, is the un-resolvable problem faced by pluralist polities; however much the state wants to separate itself from the religious sphere, it cannot give religious bodies carte blanche to do anything they believe their doctrines demand in any and all circumstances." (70)
"My point is that the structures of the religious market, like those of the economic market, are seldom fully free. In most cases some religious bodies have more legal privileges than the others. Pentecostals ar every seldom found among the most privileged groups." (71)
suggests that Pentecostalism was in fact a force for the end of monopoly and the emergence of pluralism. (71)
emphasises that culture also affects the way that religious pluralism emerges or is constrained, and that the American voluntarist culture is not a necessary outcome of the establishing of a legal framework for pluralism." (72-73)
o
reflects on the usefulness of describing pastors as "entrepreneurs". Captures their ingenuity, creativity and multi-tasking. However, if taken economically may provide a distorted picture as in fact many pastors earn very little and often supplement their income with secular employment (74-76)
o
against seeing practitioners as clients/customers argues:
(1) conversion is not a product offered by a pastor, but a process/experience managed by the convert him/herself (77)
(2) no evidence that a convert pays the church for their conversion in fact financial contribution becomes more prominent after conversion(77-78)
(3) the crucial entity within a Pentecostal conversion story is not the atomised individual, but "the responsible member of a network of relationships." (78)
(4) "The convert becomes an individual in a novel and liberating sense, named and claimed by God, rather than converting because he or, more often, she is already an individualised ‘consumer’ in the modern mould." (79)
(5) Does violence to the converts self-understanding (80)
(6) better explanations exist (80-81)
(7) is dependent on American voluntarism (81-82)
o
points to the limitations of thinking in terms of marketing and market niches 82-86)
indicates certain areas of Pentecostal influence:
"a. The underclass and those attempting to survive in the ‘informal economy’...found and join the storefront churches...b. The respectable poor, characteristically found in the older and more established Pentecostal denominations....c. A new business class...The later 1980s and 1990s added a new layer of service sector entrepreneurs, especially in the media, entertainment
and information technology...d. A new post-industrial middle class employed in high-tech and service occupations... This sector is mobile, cosmopolitan, prosperous and confident. It is also very often concerned about the evident disintegration of family life and the destructive effects of drug and alcohol addiction...This sector is particularly found in the glossier mega-churches. e. An unknown, but probably large, population of second- and third generation Pentecostals who have experienced social and/or educational mobility that has partially estranged them from those features of their original church that reflect its lowly and (relatively) unlettered class assumptions and style. They are in search of people like themselves who are committed Pentecostals but who want to worship in an intellectual and aesthetic style consistent with their educational and professional modern identities." (85-86)
factors influencing Pentecostal growth:
"a. Spiritual Culture; A still ‘enchanted’ or enspirited world;
The existence of popular spirit possession cults and practices;
A historically rooted tendency not to separate the dimensions of spiritual,
material and physical well-being;
The presence of some form of institutional Christianity.
b. Socio-Economic Conditions
A global economic system and global communications media;
Fast socio-economic change, including both the disintegration of traditional
frameworks and the emergence of new opportunities, often in
a paradoxical combination;
Mass movement of populations, both from rural to urban areas, notably
to the new mega-cities of the developing world, and from the developing
to the developed world, and back again;
The aftermath of war and civil war;
The existence of ethnically and/or economically and/or socially marginalized
groups and/or peripheries.
c. Individual and Personal Needs
Family problems, which tend to be the primary concern of women,
who constitute around two thirds of Pentecostals;
Health problems, including women’s traditional responsibility for the
health problems of the other family members;
Addictions, also seen as health problems;
Unemployment or irregular work;
Corruption, in society at large as well as in the workplace and community;
The violence and wastefulness of the culture of machismo;
The experience of marginalisation." (88)
