The production of commodified sacred space: a comparative study of Buddhist temples and consumer culture in Nepal, China, and Japan

Drawing on a multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork conducted between July 2024 and January 2025 and Henri Lefebvre's spatial theory, the analysis uncovers distinct strategies that Buddhist temples across Nepal, China, and Japan adopt to transform sacred space: community-embedded space in Nepal, where commerce remains subordinated to local devotional patterns; China's hybrid space, where state management and rapid economic development lead to controlled coexistence of ritual and commercial functions; and lifestyle-branded space in Japan, where commodified programs are packaged into authentic spiritual experience. These spatial strategies are rooted in broader differences in state-religion relations, economic development levels, and the cultural history of the three countries. The study contributes to spatial theory, religious studies, and consumer culture studies by examining how political economy shapes religious space. The study also shows that religious space is not passively commodified but actively reimagined under the pressures of market logic.