Spiritual consumption

Book chapter

Elf, P. and Isham, A. 2025. Spiritual consumption. in: Akenji, L., Vegragt, P.J., Szejnwald Brown, H., Smith, T.S.J. and Wallnöfer, L.M. (ed.) Vocabulary for Sustainable Consumption and Lifestyles: A Language for Our Common Future London, UK Routledge.
Chapter titleSpiritual consumption
AuthorsElf, P. and Isham, A.
Abstract

Spiritual consumption describes the behaviors and processes in which people engage when consuming products, services, and places for spiritual reasons/ends. Whereas William James referred to the “varieties of religious experiences”, more recent work looks at the “varieties of spiritual experiences”, demonstrating the role and importance of spirituality in and across societies. Indeed, with approximately 60% to 80% of people worldwide adhering to some sort of spiritual or religious belief according to IPSOS’s 2023 Global Religion survey across 26 countries, spiritual consumption holds considerable importance for consumer research.

Sustainable Development Goals12 Responsible consumption and production
Middlesex University ThemeSustainability
Research GroupCentre for Enterprise, Environment and Development Research (CEEDR)
Book titleVocabulary for Sustainable Consumption and Lifestyles: A Language for Our Common Future
EditorsAkenji, L., Vegragt, P.J., Szejnwald Brown, H., Smith, T.S.J. and Wallnöfer, L.M.
PublisherRoutledge
Place of publicationLondon, UK
SeriesRoutledge-SCORAI Studies in Sustainable Consumption
ISBN
Electronic9781003584056
Paperback9781032952482
Hardcover9781032952741
Copyright Year2026
Publication dates
Online29 Sep 2025
Print29 Sep 2025
Publication process dates
AcceptedOct 2025
Deposited13 Nov 2025
Output statusPublished
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Copyright Statement

This chapter has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003584056-57
LanguageEnglish
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