Homo religiosus or homo consumptor? Consumer and religious practices of men born in the 90s

Helena Piecuch

Titles

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to examine if there is a relation between the religious practices and the consumption practices of men aged 18–30. The author derives her assumptions from the theory of cult brands and their religious-like background which were described i.a. by Benjamin R. Barber, Martin Lindstrom, Matthew W. Ragas and Bolivar J. Bueno. Due to the previous research the author formed a hypothesis that men who left their hometown are prone to quit their religious practices and engage in consumption practices, i.e. regular and structured activity subject to consuming non-FMCG goods. The author decided to conduct 20 in-depth interviews with men from the specified age group. The questions of the interview concerned the influence of advertising messages on interlocutors’ brand awareness. The results of the research were ambiguous however they showed the existence of the dependence between religious and consumption practices. The article formulates questions for further research.

Abstrakt

Artykuł przedstawia wyniki badań mających na celu określenie zależności pomiędzy praktykami religijnymi i praktykami konsumpcyjnymi mężczyzn urodzonych w Polsce w latach 90. XX wieku. Autorka opiera hipotezę zakładającą wspomnianą zależność na teorii kultowych marek autorstwa m.in. Matthew W. Ragasa, Bolivara J. Bueno, Martina Lindstroma oraz Benjamina Barbera. Według tych koncepcji kultowe marki funkcjonują podobnie do wspólnot o charakterze religijnym. Jako metodę badawczą autorka wybrała wywiady pogłębione, które zostały przeprowadzone z 20 mężczyznami w wieku od 18 do 30 lat. Celem wywiadów było ustalenie sposobu oddziaływania reklamy na świadomość marek interlokutorów. Wyniki badań potwierdzają pewną zależność pomiędzy praktykami religijnymi i konsumpcyjnymi w sferze realizowanych potrzeb, a także wskazują obszary przyszłych badań.

The goal of this paper is to examine if there is a relation between the religious practices and the consumption practices of men aged 18–30. The author derives her assumptions from the theory of cult brands and their religious-like background which were described i.a. by Benjamin R. Barber, Martin Lindstrom, Matthew W. Ragas and Bolivar J. Bueno. Due to the previous research the author formed a hypothesis that men who left their hometown are prone to quit their religious practices and engage in consumption practices, i.e. regular and structured activity subject to consuming non-FMCG goods. The author decided to conduct 20 in-depth interviews with men from the specified age group. The questions of the interview concerned the influence of advertising messages on interlocutors’ brand awareness. The results of the research were ambiguous however they showed the existence of the dependence between religious and consumption practices. The article formulates questions for further research.

Keywords

consumption practices, consumption society, liquid modernity, religious practices / płynna nowoczesność, społeczeństwo konsumpcyjne, praktyki konsumpcyjne, praktyki religijne

consumption practices, consumption society, liquid modernity, religious practices

References

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Frankfort-Nachmias Ch., Nachmias D. (2015). Research Methods in the Social Sciences. New York.

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Ragas M.W., Bueno B.J. (2006). The Power of Cult Branding. How 9 Magnetic Brands Turned Customers into Loyal Followers (and Yours Can, Too). New York.

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Information

Information: Media Research Issues, 2018, Volume 61, Issue 3 (235), pp. 557 - 570

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4467/22996362PZ.18.034.10136

Article type: Original article

Titles:

Polish:

Homo religiosus or homo consumptor? Consumer and religious practices of men born in the 90s

English:

Homo religiosus or homo consumptor? Consumer and religious practices of men born in the 90s

Authors

Helena Piecuch

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4526-6764

Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Gołębia 24, 31-007 Kraków, Poland

Published at: 2018

Article status: Open

Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Percentage share of authors:

Helena Piecuch (Author) - 100%

Article corrections:

-

Publication languages:

English

View count: 1676

Number of downloads: 886

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