Abstract
The theory of the religious market begins with the observation of religious pluralism and comes to the conclusion that, in this situation, religion becomes a matter of personal or family choice and it is established a situation of competition among religions subordinated to the logic of the market economy. Thus, religions reduced to the sphere of private life can no longer perform the traditional role of religions in legitimizing the whole social order. This article analyzes the thesis of the subordination of religion to the logic of the market economy and puts forward the hypothesis that the traditional function of the religion of absolutizing the relative and legitimizing the arbitrary is exercised today by the capitalist market system itself; and, because of that, the logic of the market economy has become the natural” way of thinking today, even to think about religion. To this purpose, it dialogues mainly with the thought of P. Berger, P. Bourdieu, M. Weber, W. Benjamin, K. Marx, F. Hinkelammert and H. Assmann, showing how the theme of faith in and sacralization of market appears in discourses of economists.
Highlights
The theory of the religious market begins with the observation of religious pluralism and comes to the conclusion that, in this situation, religion becomes a matter of personal or family choice and it is established a situation of competition among religions subordinated to the logic of the market economy
Penso que estes poucos exemplos são suficientes para, pelo menos, estimular a discussão sobre (a) a tese de que o capitalismo substituiu a Religião na sua função tradicional de “sacralizar” a ordem social, (b) de que a economia de mercado atua como Religião, e que (c) o que mantém o sistema de “destruição criativa” em ordem e move a sociedade hoje é a fé no mercado
O modo como diversos autores aplicam conceitos e teorias econômicas legitimadores da atual ordem econômico-social ao estudo da religião levanta a possibilidade de que estamos vendo, não apenas uma imprecisão teórica – como alguns questionam –, mas um sinal de que realmente a economia de mercado assumiu as funções tradicionais da Religião em relação à ordem social
Summary
The theory of the religious market begins with the observation of religious pluralism and comes to the conclusion that, in this situation, religion becomes a matter of personal or family choice and it is established a situation of competition among religions subordinated to the logic of the market economy. Em um mundo desencantado como o nosso, diante de deuses que se manifestam como forças impessoais, os sacrifícios não são mais ofertados pelas religiões tradicionais, mas no interior do próprio sistema capitalista, seguindo a lógica da economia de mercado.
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