A Framework for Understanding the Relationships between Religions and Markets

Religions and religious institutions affect markets in a variety of ways. The objectives of this study are threefold. First, it details the parameters of market activity affected by religions and religious institutions. Second, it discusses the ways in which religion exerts authority over the activities of markets. The presence of authority is a necessary prerequisite for religious influence on markets. Third, religious authority is used as a framework to understand how traditional questions of macromarketing inform, and are informed by, the intersection of religions and markets. The article uses the framework of religious authority to explore the variety of effects of religions on markets and markets on religions.