Neoliberal Religion: Faith and Power in the Twenty-first Century

by Mathew Guest

This book explores neoliberalism as an account of contemporary society and considers what this means for our understanding of religion.

Neoliberalism is a perspective grounded in free market economics and distinguished by a celebration of competition and consumer choice. It has had a profound influence in societies across the world, and has extended its reach into all areas of human experience. And yet neoliberalism is not just about enterprise and opportunity. It also comes with authoritarian leadership, gross inequality and the manipulation of information. How should we make sense of these changes, and what do they mean for the status of religion in the 21st century? Has religion been transformed into a market commodity or consumer product? Does the embrace of business methods make religious movements more culturally relevant, or can they be used to reinforce inequalities of gender or ethnicity? How might neoliberal contexts demand we think differently about matters of religious identity and power?

This book provides an accessible discussion about religion in the 21st century. Mathew Guest asks what distinguishes neoliberal religion and explores the sociological and ethical questions that arise from considering its wider significance.

216 pages, Paperback

Published August 11, 2022

About the author

Mathew Guest is Professor in the Sociology of Religion and Head of the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University, UK. He is the author of a number of academic books, covering the contemporary evangelical movement, religion within university contexts and the relationship between neoliberal economics and religious identities.

He uses Good Reads chiefly in relation to his passion for crime fiction, and reviews of a variety of crime novels he has recently read are shared on this platform.

Reviews

[Ben S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good sociological overview of neoliberalism and religion. I picked it up (based on its title alone) for an independent study on Christianity and neoliberalism—and it proved to be a good resource. The chapters on religion and the market, and on religion and the entrepreneurial self, were most useful to me. But the rest is good too and deserve a read!

If this is a topic of interest—the references are also a fantastic resource for further exploration.

[Rhiannon Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful analysis which looks at how neoliberal thought influences religion and state interactions with religion, including in the behaviour of churches and other communities, counterterrorism programmes, and politics. Closes with an important call for more attention to ethics and the fiction of a neutral stance in sociology of religion.

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is all but impossible to understand the formations and structures of modern religious figures and movements apart from the fundamental organization and ethos of the broader society. But traditional models for understanding provided by the field of sociology of religion have, at times, proved inadequate for the contemporary moment. This volume seeks to correct that by doing a deep dive into the philosophy and concomitant cultural movement of neoliberalism, tracing its influence and consequences for religions and religious movements, as well as the study of religion--a fine but important distinction. Guest's book is impressive in its scope and in the wide array of examples and situations that it covers, and covers well. There's a lot of very thoughtful critique, and a marshaling of resources from throughout sociology and other areas of the academy to collectively work to understand the contemporary religious ethos. Occasionally it seemed to me that chapters tried to cram in too many examples, making too many loose connections without adequately tracing them through, but all-in-all this was an extremely interesting volume that raises a lot of questions, makes a lot of neat conceptual advances, and ultimately tries very hard to offer a way forward for other scholars. In many ways, that's the best you can hope for from an academic book, and altogether this one does a nice job with what it sets out to do.

[Brandon Kriplean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great survey with interesting perspectives on neutrality (or lack thereof) in the field of sociology. Would highly recommend!

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as part of my MA Religion course. The book is a comprehensive overview of the sociology of religion in the 21st century neoliberal age, using traditional sociological theories and methodologies to ask new questions. The book is accessible, intersectional and interdisciplinary, and I would highly recommend it to all.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

another dissertation slay moment