Title

The economics of spiritual luxury: The glittering lobby and the parliament of religions

Abstract

Richard H. Roberts's article on the theoretical setting of the 1993 World's Parliament of Religions is an example of the contradictions that result when scholars of religion presume that religion is autonomous or sui generis. By conceiving of religious experiences as independent variables that have socio-political and economic implications, but not causes, such scholarship romanticises and thereby depoliticises historical, human interactions and institutions. Despite his efforts to portray globalised religion as an active, oppositional force, contradictions in Roberts's essay suggest that global religion is itself a commodified construct dependent on the process of mythifxcation to gloss over concrete differences in class, race and gender. © 1998 Carfax Publishing Ltd.

Department(s)

Religious Studies

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1080/13537909808580821

Publication Date

1-1-1998

Journal Title

Journal of Contemporary Religion

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