A Critical Overview of Religious Market Theory

Abstract

The secularization thesis expects the decline of religion as a result of the modernization process. However, with modernization the effect of religion is not diminished in many societies and in some modern societies such as the United States, there are high religiousness rates. For these reasons, in recent years the classical secularization thesis has been questioned in the academic world. Therefore, alternative approaches to the secularization thesis have begun to develop. Religious Market Theory has emerged as a new approach attempting to apply the basic principles of classical economics to the social scientific study of religion. In this article, my aim is to examine the basic premises of Religious Market Theory and its application to the United States and European countries. After that I critique it and show that it is also as misleading as the secularization thesis to understand the phenomenon of religion in societies. While the secularization thesis is based on Europe’s experience to understand the place of religion in modern societies and universalizes it, Religious Market Theory theorizes and universalizes the American experience of religion

Keywords

• Religious Market Theory, Rational Choice Theory, Secularization, Religiosity, Religious Participation, Religious Pluralism

Dinî piyasalar teorisi: eleştirel bir değerlendirme

Abstract

Klasik sekülerleşme tezi modernleşme ile birlikte dinin toplum üzerindeki etkisinin azalacağını beklemektedir. Ancak hem modernleşme ile birlikte birçok toplumda dinin etkisinin azalmaması hem de Amerika Birleşik Devletleri gibi modern kabul edilen bazı toplumlarda yüksek dindarlık oranı nedeni ile klasik sekülerleşme tezi akademi dünyasında son yıllarda sorgulanır hale gelmiştir. Bu nedenle sekülerleşme tezine alternatif yeni yaklaşımlar gelişmeye başlamıştır. Gelişmekte olan alternatif yaklaşımlar içerisinde klasik iktisat teorisindeki en temel yaklaşımları dini alana uygulamaya çalışan Dini Piyasalar Teorisi ön plana çıkmaktadır. Bu çerçevede, makalede hem Dini Piyasalar Teorisinin teorik temelleri hem de Amerika ve Avrupa örneğinde ampirik uygulaması ele alınmıştır. Nihayetinde ise Dini Piyasalar Teorisinin toplumlardaki din olgusunu anlamak bakımından en az sekülerleşme tezi kadar yanıltıcı olduğu gösterilmiştir. Zira, sekülerleşme tezi modern toplumlarda dinin yerini anlamak için Avrupa’da yaşanan tecrübeyi kendine temel almakta ve onu evrenselleştirmekte iken, Dini Piyasalar Teorisi de Amerika’da yaşanan dini tecrübeyi teorileştirmekte ve onu evrenselleştirmektedir

Keywords

• Dinî Piyasalar Teorisi, Rasyonel Seçim Teorisi, Sekülerleşme, Toplumsal Dindarlık, Dinî Katılım, Dinî Çoğulculuk

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