Revisiting the spiritual supermarket: does the commodification of spirituality necessarily devalue it?

Abstract

The New Age is often depicted as the quintessential spiritual marketplace in which seekers freely choose from an array of religious options. Empirically it is correct to point out that the movement has formed largely around consumption of goods and services offered for sale. Yet its commercial aspect is often conceptualised in relatively superficial terms. The notion that it is a ‘spiritual supermarket’ has been used to suggest that New Age consumer practices are trivial or socially insignificant. This has led some to call for a turn away from reductive market models. However, this article proposes that New Age studies should instead examine and theorise commercial dynamics more thoroughly, taking the lead from work in other disciplines that increasingly shows how economic, cultural and social life are deeply imbricated. Overcoming the taint of the spiritual supermarket allows a range of issues in the field to be explored more comprehensively.