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The i-zation of Society, Religion, and Neoliberal Post-Secularism

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  • © 2018

Overview

Authors:
  1. Adam Possamai

    1. Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia

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  • Updates the theory of Jameson from late capitalism to digital capitalism, and of Ritzer from the McDonalidisation of society to the i-zation of society
  • Explores current theories on the standardisation and branding of religion
  • Introduces new concepts such as the Pygmalion process
  • Critiques the post-secular project and its inclusion in neoliberalism
  • Analyses the place of religion in neoliberalism and proposal for a compassionate tax
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

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Table of contents (13 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xv
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  2. Introduction

    • Adam Possamai
    Pages 1-16

  3. Part I

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 17-18
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    2. Religions Aligned with Neoliberalism

      • Adam Possamai
      Pages 19-34

    3. Religions Within Neoliberalism

      • Adam Possamai
      Pages 35-47

    4. Religious Alternatives to Neoliberalism

      • Adam Possamai
      Pages 49-66

    5. There Is No Such Thing as a Religion

      • Adam Possamai
      Pages 67-79

  5. Part III

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 185-186
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    2. Revising Religious Tax Exemption

      • Adam Possamai
      Pages 187-199

    3. Conclusions: A Global Compassionate Tax for the i-Society

      • Adam Possamai
      Pages 201-208

  6. Back Matter

    Pages 209-244
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Keywords

About this book

This book explores the elective affinity of religion and post-secularism with neoliberalism. With the help of digital capitalism, neoliberalism dominates, more and more, all aspects of life, and religion is not left unaffected. While some faith groups are embracing this hegemony, and others are simply following the signs of the times, changes have been so significant that religion is no longer what it used to be. Linking theories from Fredric Jameson and George Ritzer, this book presents the argument that our present society is going through a process of i-zation in which (1) capitalism dominates not only our outer, social lives (through, for example, global capitalism) but also our inner, personal lives, through its expansion in the digital world, facilitated by various i-technology applications; (2) the McDonaldization process has now been normalized; and (3) religiosity has been standardized. Reviewing the new inequalities present in this i-society, the book considers their impact on Jurgen Habermas’s project of post-secularism, and appraises the roles that various religions may have in supporting and/or countering this process. It concludes by arguing that Habermas’s post-secular project will occur but that, paradoxically, the religious message(s) will be instrumentalized for capitalist purposes. 

Reviews

“Possamai’s analysis is well-presented, coherently and frequently convincingly argued, and above all interesting. … It makes a solid contribution to what is indeed a much larger and very much an ongoing discussion.” (Peter Beyer, Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol. 34 (2), 2019)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia

    Adam Possamai

About the author

Adam Possamai is Professor in Sociology and Director of Research in the School of Social Sciences and Psychology at Western Sydney University. He is the (co)author and (co)editor of a dozen academic books, 5 novels, and close to 80 refereed articles and book chapters. He is the past President of the International Sociological Association’s Committee 22 on the Sociology of Religion. He has been a visiting Professor at the City University of New York and the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. His latest books are Religions, Nations and Transnationalism in Multiple Modernities (edited with Patrick Michel and Bryan Turner, 2017, Palgrave McMillan),  Religion and Non-Religion among Australian Aboriginal Peoples (edited with James Cox, 2016, Routledge), The Sociology of Shari’a: Case Studies from Around the World (edited with James Richardson and Bryan Turner, 2015, Springer) and the novel L’histoire extraordinaire de Baudelaire (2017, Rivière Blanche). 

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The i-zation of Society, Religion, and Neoliberal Post-Secularism

  • Authors: Adam Possamai

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5942-1

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Singapore

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-10-5941-4Published: 16 November 2017

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-981-13-5530-1Published: 23 December 2018

  • eBook ISBN: 978-981-10-5942-1Published: 30 October 2017

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XV, 244

  • Number of Illustrations: 2 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Sociology of Religion, Politics and Religion, Religion and Society, Social Theory

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