Social Compass http://scp.sagepub.com Commercialization of Religious Objects: A Comparison between Traditional and New Age Religions Nurit Zaidman Social Compass 2003; 50; 345 DOI: 10.1177/00377686030503008 The online version of this article can be found at: http://scp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/50/3/345 Published by: (SSAGE Publications http:/Awww.sagepublications.com Additional services and information for Social Compass can be found at: Email Alerts: htip://scp.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://scp.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Citations (this article cites 4 articles hosted on the SAGE Journals Online and HighWire Press platforms): http://sep. sagepub. com/cgi/content/refs/50/3/345 «© 2008 Social Compass Ail igs teserved, Wot for Commercial us or Unauinoried ditbuton,social compass '50(3), 2003, 345-360 Nurit Zaidman Commercialization of Religious Objects: A Comparison Between Traditional and New Age Religions The present study is an attempt to understand the differences between modern and traditional religions regarding trade in religious goods. It presents an analysis of the world of goods and participants’ cultural worlds, as well as the transformation of meaning in objects. The study focuses on members of two different subcultures in Israel: New Agers and Jews of North African origin who are involved in pilgrimage to local saints’ tombs. The results show that traditional and New Age subcultures differ with regard to participants’ perspec- tives on the commercialization of religious goods, the role of marketing agents, and the general characteristics of the market. Dans cette étude, Vauteur tente de comprendre les différences entre les religions ‘modernes et traditionnelles en ce qui concerne le commerce des biens religieux. II propose une analyse de V'univers de ces biens et des contextes culturels des adeptes, ainsi que de la maniére dont ils conférent un sens d des objets. L’étude est centrée sur les membres de deux sous-cultures présentes en Israél: les New Agers et les juifs dorigine nord-africaine qui participent a des pélerinages les conduisant sur les tombes de saints locaux. Les résultats montrent que les sous-cultures liées d la tradition, d'une part, et d la mouvance Nouvel Age, d'autre part, différent l'une de l'autre dans la maniére dont leurs membres considérent la commercialisation des biens religieux, le réle des agents de marketing et les caractéristiques générales du marché. The emergence of consumer society, in which every item of culture becomes a commodity, and the shift from limited production to mass production, have had an impact on the commercialization of religious objects (Tambiah, 1984; Bauman, 1987; Rose, 1990; Bilu and Ben-Ari, 1992; Moore, 1994; McDannell, 1995; Starrett, 1995). Consumers, however, respond differently to the commercialization of religious goods. In traditional cultures or sub- cultures such as the Islamic society in Egypt and groups performing pil- grimages to saints’ tombs in Israel, there is a growing market of religious goods. Yet Muslim scholars and secularists, as well as Israeli pilgrims, express concern about the commercialization of religion (Starrett, 1995; Zaidman and Lowengart, 2001). Similar concern is expressed by intellectual reformist monks in Thailand, where there is a growing interest in trade in Buddhist talis- mans and a proliferation of Buddhist enterprises (Tambiah, 1984; Yee, 1996). (0037-7686[200309]50:3;345-360;035158 www.sagepublications.com © 2003 Social Compass © 2003 Social Compass, Al rights reserved, Hot for commorcil use or unavthoried distribution,346 Social Compass 50(3) On the other hand, research that took place in the United States has shown how the consumption of religious and secular objects (such as perfume and make-up) was perceived as sacred when they were framed within the context of a sacred place, a sacred time, and a sacred journey to a Christian religious park (O’Guinn and Belk, 1989). Furthermore, other research conducted there shows how consumers sacralize secular objects (Belk et al., 1989). Thus, according to these studies, profane commodities can contain sacred meaning and there is no objection to the commercialization or creation of religious goods. A similar attitude toward consumption exists among members of the New ‘Age subculture (or New Agers). The term refers to the self-conscious move- ment that emerged in the early 1970s in the West. The message of the New Age is its hope in personal transformation, which can be reached through body work, spiritual disciplines, natural diets, and renewed human relation- ships (Melton, 1992). Scholars who study the New Age subculture argue that intensive marketing activity is associated with it and suggest the term “spiritual marketplace” when discussing the phenomenon (Bowman, 1999; van Hove, 1999; van Otterloo, 1999; York, 1999). ‘The present study is an attempt to understand the differences between modern and traditional religions regarding trade in religious goods. It examines the meaning attributed to trade in religious goods by members of two different subcultures in Israel: New Agers and Jews of North African origin who are involved in pilgrimage to local saints’ tombs. The Meaning of Religious Objects Research conducted in different cultures shows that religious objects derive meaning from social structures such as the nation, the community, or denominational affiliation (Agee and Evans, [1939] 1980; Tambiah, 1984; McDannell, 1995; Starrett, 1995) or from the network of social relationships (Bilu, 1988: Cheal, 1988; Berger, 1999; Portrata, 2001).' Religious objects also derive meaning from two other sources, the cultural world and the individual consumer. In this study I investigate these sources of meaning attribution based on McCracken’s (1988) model of the manufacture and movement of meaning in the world of goods. According to McCracken, meaning is usually drawn from the culturally constituted world and transferred to the consumer good. It is then drawn from the object and transferred to the individual consumer. The culturally constituted world can be characterized in terms of two concepts: cultural categories and cultural principles. Cultural cate- gories of time, space, nature, and person combine to create many other, secondary categories and the conceptual grid of a culturally constituted world. Meaning consists also in cultural principles—the ideas or values according to which cultural phenomena are organized, evaluated, and con- strued. These categories and principles are substantiated by consumer goods. ‘The article suggests an analysis of the connection between the world of religious goods and the participants’ cultural world, as well as of the transfer © 2003 Social Compass, Al rights reserved, Hot for commorcil use or unavthorized distribution,Zaidman: Commercialization of Religious Objects 347 of meaning from objects to the consumer for both subcultures. It opens with background information about trade within the two subcultures in Israel and then proceeds with a comparison of the way participants from both subcul- tures define and categorize religious objects. The following sections focus on those cultural categories and principles that attribute meaning to objects in both subcultures and on their influence on perceptions of consumerism, the role of agents, and the organization of religious markets Trade in Religious Goods in Israel: Traditional Pilgrimage and the New Age Pilgrimage to the tombs of the righteous has been common among Jews and Muslims in North Africa for many centuries (Ben-Ami, 1981). The trans- plantation of the pilgrimage to the tombs of the righteous by Moroccan immigration to Israel can be observed in the revival of ancient shrines (Ben-Ami, 1981) and in the establishment of new holy places in small, peri- pheral cities in the south of Israel. Pilgrimage has inspired the development of elaborate commercial activity. Temporary markets and permanent shops have been established near these centers (Zaidman and Lowengart, 2001). Numerous objects produced in modern factories that carry images of saints are marketed on the site itself and around the country, and new pro- ducts are introduced every year. The production and marketing of these objects are partially managed by members of the saints’ families, who are interested in establishing the saints’ charisma and legitimacy (Bilu and Ben-Ari, 1992) as well as in advancing their economic interests. Trade in religious goods also takes place in the context of the New Age subculture in Israel. The institutional manifestation of the New Age in Isracl became noticeable in the carly 1990s. At present, according to my observations and estimates, there are about 25 New Age shops in Israel. They are scattered in different areas of the country and can be found in both major and small towns, There are tens of New Age centers and several colleges. The 2000-2001 edition of the New Age “Yellow” Pages lists 3000 individuals and businesses that offered hundreds of workshops. Consumers can also be exposed to the variety of New Age goods and services in festivals, exhibitions, and magazines. ‘A close look at a New Age shop reveals shelves loaded with stones, sculp- tures, oils, body lotions and soaps, candles, books, incense, bells, mirrors, etc. Most often there are small notes attached to individual or groups of objects indicating what they are or what they do (e.g. “dream catcher— hand made” or “oils for massage”). Method Data about pilgrimage and pilgrims’ perspectives on religious goods were collected previously and published in Zaidman and Lowengart (2001). The © 2003 Social Compass, Al rights reserved, Hot for commorcil use or unavthorized distribution,348. Social Compass 50(3) following section refers to data collected during the year 2001 about the New Age subculture. Interviews Interviews were conducted with 43 people, 29 women and 14 men. The average age of the participants is 27; their ages range between 14 and 44, Participants had an average of 13 years of education. Their country of origin varied (e.g. Poland, France, Israel, Yemen, the USA) The participants can be divided into two categories according to their knowledge and involvement with the New Age subculture. The first category includes 36 customers with a relatively low level of involvement with the New Age subculture, mainly consumers who bought products from New Age shops. (We interviewed only those who bought “mystic objects”, as will be explained later on, such as candles, incense, dream catchers, and cards.) ‘The second category includes seven people who are more involved and who work in variety of New Age areas, such as acupuncture, Shiatsu, reincar- nation, physiotherapy, Feng Shui, and healing. Observations Observations took place in 13 shops situated in different parts of the country, from Haifa in the North to Gedera in the South, and located in major cities (such as Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa) as well as in small towns (e.g., Gedera). The shops were part of shopping centers or were placed on the street, and varied in size. Observations also took place in April 2001 at a three-day Mystic Exhibi- tion in Tel Aviv and at the Bobamela, a festival of love, that took place in April 2001 on Nizanim beach. What is Considered a “Religious” Object? My intention in this section is to describe similarities and differences in the way traditional and modern consumers define and categorize religious objects. The section focuses on the following questions. How do participants define objects that contain power? How do participants cognitively organize the world of religious goods? What objects are considered to be * “sacred”, or “powerful”, and what objects do not contain any of these meanings? Pilgrims’ perceptions of religious goods have been reported elsewhere (Zaidman and Lowengart, 2001). Interviewers gave to several participants a list of objects that are commonly available for sale. Each object was written on a separate card. Participants were asked to arrange the cards in groups and explain the rationale of their organization (Spradley, 1979). In all cases, the participants arranged toys, shirts, and hats in one category that included objects that could not legitimately be given a sacred blessing. The partici- pants also agreed on the content and the organizing principle of a second © 2003 Social Compass, Al rights reserved, Hot for commorcil use or unavthorized distribution,Zaidman: Commercialization of Religious Objects 349 category that included candles and Psalms that had their own sources of holi- ness. The content and boundaries of the third category were the least fixed. Its core included items that are common in the tradition of Moroccan Jews. When these items are blessed by a rabbi or put on the grave at the holy site, they can absorb healing powers or holiness. The third category also included a variety of items that might carry the image (and the blessing) of the saint, such as wine cups and pictures to hang on the wall (Zaidman and Lowengart, 2001). I used a similar methodology to learn about New Agers’ perspectives on religious goods. At first, my intention was to discover what terms are used by New Agers for objects that contain power. We conducted several inter- views and asked about the meaning of “spiritual”, “sacred”, and “mystic” objects. We find that unlike participants in pilgrimages, who use the word “sacred object”, participants in the New Age subculture use the word “mystic objects” to denote the existence of objects with additional “power” characteristics. When asked what mystic objects are, the majority of the respondents argue that mystic objects are those objects that create spiritual calmness, tran- quility, and peacefulness in the user. A few suggested definitions that describe mystic objects as connecting the individual and other realms, such as nature, energies, Karma, or the unconscious. The second step was to ask New Agers to arrange several mystic objects (such as stones, candles, cards, and dream catchers) into categories. The participants arranged the mystic objects according to four different classify- ing principles. The first was the origin of objects (e.g. objects from the East and objects used in Shaman traditions). The second was the function of the objects (¢.g. candles create atmosphere, and cards are devices to get direc- tion). The third principle was objects that were meaningful to the individual participant; that is, the participants grouped together different kinds of objects that were meaningful to them and grouped all the rest in a different category. The final organizing principle was the essence of the object (e.g. objects that are expression of natural frequencies such as stones and oils). When comparing the way participants from both subcultures organize the world of goods, two major differences arise: New Agers used four principles to organize the world of goods while saint followers used only one criterion: the ability of objects to contain power. Second, there was little agreement among New Agers regarding the classification of specific objects. Individuals classify the same objects in different categories. Saint followers, on the other hand, express different perspectives only about one category of objects (out of the three they mentioned)—those that can contain the saint’s blessing. One can learn from the comparison above that among consumers of the pilgrimage tradition there is a high degree of uniformity of perception regard- ing the world of goods, while this uniformity does not exist among New Age consumers. This difference reflects more individualism among the New Age members. It is normative within the New Age subculture that individuals perceive and organize objects in their own way, while pilgrims share the same world-view. © 2003 Social Compass, Al rights reserved, Hot for commorcil use or unavthorized distribution,350 Social Compass 50(3) We can thus describe the New Age cognitive world of objects as relatively “fluid”, “allowing” the existence of several criteria of organization, while the cognitive world of pilgrims or followers of the saint tradition is more fixed and is based on one criterion. The only principle of object organization for pilgrims is the extent to which objects can contain sacredness. For New Agers it is the object’s function, origin, essence, and meaning for the user. The Culturally Constituted World and the World of Religious Goods The culturally constituted world is an important source of meaning attribu- tion for religious objects. The relevant cultural categories that explain the meaning participants attribute to objects in both subcultures are the follow- ing: the person (the individual as a person), objects (the world of religious goods), and objects’ source of power (or God as a cultural category). Relationships between these categories are also part of the consumers’ cultural world. In the center of the saint tradition is the dialogue between the individual and the saint. Dialogues with saints are often continuous rather than solitary occurrences. One woman told us that she visited the tomb of the saint in Morocco and vowed that if she had a boy she would name the child after the saint. A few years later, she visited the tomb with her boy (who bore the saint’s name) to ask for the saint’s intervention in getting a good living for her family. Her third visit had been to the tomb of a saint in Israel. This time she made a vow that, if an upcoming operation were successful, she would hold a big feast on the grave and donate money to the poor. ‘An important time within this dialogue is the pilgrimage. Myerhoff describes it as follows: Pilgrimage is then at once an inner and outer journey, the geographic, collective peregri- nation running parallel to the voyage down into the unconscious, where the traveler has a sacred encounter between saint and self. This lower voyage provides a personal, un- conscious, psychic, and subjective dimension for the cultural occasion of pilgrimage so that history and biography blend, and a private life partakes of a larger, collective tale—each enlarging and reinforcing one another. (1993: 213) In the center of the saint tradition is the dialogue between the believers and the saint, and the believers pray for the saint’s intervention in their lives. Objects have a part in this process—objects that are put on the saint’s grave on the auspicious day of the pilgrimage or that have been blessed by the saint while he was alive serve as one medium to transfer the saint's blessing. Pilgrims expressed unrestricted belief about the objects’ power to cure, bless, and protect. For example, they drink holy water whenever a person is sick, or when a woman is about to deliver. I was told how believers tried to cure a dying man by moving a picture of a well-known saint above his body. Cultural categories have different meaning within the New Age sub- culture. © 2003 Social Compass, Al rights reserved, Hot for commorcil use or unavthorized distribution,Zaidman: Commercialization of Religious Objects 351 Within the New Age subculture, the journey is an inner journey, a voyage down into inner spirituality, where the traveler has a sacred encounter with his or her inner self. In the center of this subculture is the individual who seeks inner spirituality, or truth. His or her experiences tend to move beyond the “intellect” or the “mind” and encounter a new realm of being. Inner spirituality is held to serve as the source of authentic vitality, creativity, love, tranquillity, wisdom, and other qualities that are held to comprise the perfect life (Heelas, 1996; Kubiak, 1999). The individual is alone in this jour- ney, yet objects have a role in this process. This is expressed in the words of a young woman: “I am looking for a spiritual object, an object that I can meditate with. Spiritual objects provide a way to be disconnected from the surrounding. They help me to get closer to myself, to get to the level of spirituality.” New Agers’ responses to the question “What is the source of power of mystic objects?” indicate that there is a multifaceted interaction between existing cultural categories. New Age practitioners presented several expla- nations of the source of power, such as “the absolute connection with the cosmos”, “nature”, and “the light in the universe”. Yet a fundamental claim of New Agers is that the objects’ source of power depends on the user. As one person said: “Objects do not have power as they are, only in interac- tion.” This viewpoint is also expressed in the responses of participants to the request to arrange mystic objects on a scale denoting their relative power. All participants did not complete the task, offering an explanation that “all objects have the same power” or “the object’s power changes depend- ing on the person” A similar pattern appears in the participants’ responses to the question what mystic objects are. A few New Agers suggested definitions that describe mystic objects as connecting between the individual and other realms, such as nature, energies, Karma, or the unconscious. ‘Thus, there are two major sources of meaning attribution within the New Age subculture. The first is the individual himself; objects have meaning only when interacting with the user. The notion that the individual is a main meaning attributer is also expressed in the importance participants attributed to concepts such as Karma or “the unconscious”. Both concepts are actually aspects of the individual self. At the same time, individuals also mentioned external source of meaning attribution such as Nature, energy, the cosmos, and the “light of the universe”. It is interesting to note, however, that all New Agers who participated in this study reject objects that are associated with the blessing of the saint, probably because they reject external sources of authority. “Truths” pro- vided by the dogmas of religious traditions, or by other people—parents, scientists, and even spiritual masters—might well be erroneous (Heelas, 1996). Finally, one should note that not all New Agers accept the potential power of all mystic objects. For example, one person said: “Dream catchers, it looks ‘harta’ [crap] to me. If it works, it is only because people believe in it.” A few others said that they do not know what the objects’ source of power is; and three people denied the power of all mystic objects. © 2003 Social Compass, Al rights reserved, Hot for commorcil use or unavthorized distribution,352. Social Compass 50(3) When comparing both systems, the following conclusions arise. First, the majority of the participants from both subcultures believe in the power of certain kinds of objects to cure, heal, protect, balance energy, help in fertility, connect to spirituality, etc. Yet followers of the saint tradition express more certainty about the object’s power; New Agers often perceive the use of mystic objects as an experiment in which their validity is subjectively tested (Doktor, 1999). Second, participants differ with regard to the objects’ source of power. Within the saint tradition, there is one source of power: an elevated person. “God” as a cultural category (rather than a theological category) is the source of power, and appears as an elevated person. The power of the saint works regardless of the user’s awareness and is independent of him or her. Within the New Age subculture, there are two sources of an object’s power: the primary source is the individual user, and the second is the general impersonal power of the universe. ‘The Movement of Meaning from the Cultural World to Religious Goods The cultural world is a major source of meaning attribution to objects (McCracken, 1988). Marketing agents have an important role in transferring meaning from the cultural world to objects. Their first role is to identify the relevant cultural categories and principles and connect them with products. Their second role is to communicate the product by conjoining the consumer good and a representation of the culturally constituted world within the frame of a particular advertisement. Advertising can charge a product with meaning through the setting for the ad, whether fantastic or naturalistic, and through other details such as the time of the day (McCracken, 1988). Finally, marketing agents also design other elements such as pricing, distri- bution, and product strategies to maintain the product’s status image. The product may be distributed in outlets that have a status image and be made with certain features that are appropriate only for the target buyer (Leigh and Gabel, 1992). The two subcultures differ with regard to the meaning that participants attribute to objects, and with regard to the role of agents in the process. As discussed earlier, followers of the saint tradition believe in the power of objects that were blessed by the saint. They want to be sure that objects in fact contain the saint’s blessing, that they are authentic. This desire for authenticity entails a similar concern regarding agents. Consumers want to make sure that they buy from agents who are really religious, representatives of religious schools and/or family members of the saint. Belonging to one of these categories ensures the object’s authenticity (Zaidman and Lowengart, 2001). Concern about the authenticity of sacred objects also appears in other traditional religions in which consumers accept an external source of object power. For Christian believers, for example, it is important that the holy © 2003 Social Compass, Al rights reserved, Hot for commorcil use or unavthorized distribution,Zaidman: Commercialization of Religious Objects 353 water that they use really came from Lourdes and not from another lake. The authenticity of the water ensures its spiritual properties (McDannell, 1995). Similarly, in Thailand, authentic talismans are those blessed by certain monks. All customers believe that “inauthentic” talismans are powerless and worthless, and there are criteria of an object’s authenticity (e.g. the his- tory of the object’s production) (Yee, 1996). Thus, in several traditional religions, similar meaning is transferred from the cultural world to religious goods—the association of objects with their authentic source. In these cases, the object’s main source of meaning is external to the user. Consumers express concern about the transfer of power from “God” to object, or about the authenticity of other sources of the object’s power. Yet authenticity is constructed differently within each sub- culture, depending on the specific sociocultural, as well as market, conditions. Research shows marketing agents in traditional religions communicate the meaning of object authenticity in different ways. In Thailand and Singapore, for example, advertisements by Buddhist enterprises construct myths about authenticity and scarcity of the products, since people might otherwise prefer to obtain them from monks in temples (Yee, 1996). In the case of the saint tradition, meaning is transferred from the cultural world to agents, and from agents to objects. Within this specific cultural context, agents use several strategies to demonstrate that shey are authentic, that is, that they per- form or insure object authenticity, such as creating and showing proximity to the saint and being associated with a sacred space (Zaidman and Lowengart, 2001). Unlike followers of traditional religions, New Agers do not need an exter- nal proof of object authenticity, and this is not the meaning they seek in mystic objects. When I asked them directly about “real” and “fake” objects, the responses indicated that the distinction is not relevant. One person said “Fake objects? It is a hard question. I think that the whole business depends on the users’ belief. If that is the case, a mystic object cannot be fake because it brings the desired feelings to the user.” From the New Agers’ perspective, there are two dimensions of meaning that objects should contain: perfection (of physical properties) and unique- ness or novelty. Objects need to be perfect in physical properties such as smell and appearance because they are used as devices in the process of self-spirituality. New Agers use objects to “create good atmosphere”. Objects are also used to “get closer to myself”, often while doing meditation. As one person said: “I am looking for objects with a good smell since it creates pos tive energy and energy is our inner power.” ‘The second dimension of meaning is uniqueness or novelty. New Agers are looking for new and interesting objects. As one man stated, “I am always attracted to these kind of stores, to examine the different items that they have and see if there is something new and interesting.” New Agers’ responses to the question whether they are willing to buy new objects indicate that they are willing, and even seeking, to buy new mystic objects providing that they need these objects or are attracted to them. Meaning is transferred to the world of goods in several ways. First, shop owners try to transfer meaning to objects through the design of their store. © 2003 Social Compass, Al rights reserved, Hot for commorcil use or unavthorized distribution,354 Social Compass 50(3) Visitors in a New Age shop actually experience the atmosphere that they might recreate in a different setting with products that they buy. Shop owners create the desired atmosphere in the store in several ways. They play New Age music, burn incense, put water fountains about the store, and use Feng Shui objects to balance the energy in the store. A shop owner told us: “I create atmosphere in a very calculated way. But there is also a very strong intuitive element in building it. The role of the atmosphere is to assist in selling by getting people to stay in the shop.” Participants said that indeed they are attracted to the store’s “good atmosphere”—a general and accumulated expression of the products’ perfection. In other words, the store as a whole transfers the meaning of positive, clean, lighted, and calm environment. Agents in the New Age subculture (more specifically, producers and shop owners) are also highly involved in the creation and introduction of novel and interesting objects. Meaning is transferred to goods in several ways. First, producers often provide written explanations about the product's qualities, functions, and origin. An example is a note attached (by the pro- ducer) to a dream catcher: “As a Native American legend is told, by hanging a dream catcher over your sleeping area the bad dreams will be deterred by the bead in the web, while the presence of the feathers will attract and allow the good dreams to pass through.” This note provides information about the origin, nature and function of the product. In several stores we find that sellers often add their own explanations to products. An example is a hand-written note placed near a erystal pyramid: ‘The power of the pyramid has been known since the time of ancient Egypt. The pyramid can enhance and empower any idea, request or matter, and empower the person who uses it according to his needs in putting a request into it. The power of the pyramid is in the great accuracy that is invested in it Shop owners also provide information (or transfer meaning to objects) by the way they position products in the store. For example, shop owners may put all erystals in one place along with incense, or they can put the incense with other objects. Finally, much of the process of knowledge and meaning transfer from the cultural world to objects takes place in interactions between consumers and sellers. This was expressed in the following narrative given by a 25-year-old man: In these stores, sellers who understand mysticism explain to me about the products that I find interesting. There are also explanations near the products, and if there is topic that I am especially interested in, I will buy a book, I am always willing to try new objects pro- viding that they open a window to something new; but it also depends on the product itself and its price On several occasions we heard that sellers and shop owners take an active role in introducing objects. One person told us: © 2003 Social Compass, Al rights reserved, Hot for commorcil use or unavthorized distribution,Zaidman: Commercialization of Religious Objects 355 When I see a person in the shop, I use my intuition. If'a person does not know what he needs, I know what to tell him. I try to get who the person is, what he needs the object for, what is he searching for in his life. Based on this information I will recommend an object to him. To summarize, there are differences in the meaning participants attribute to objects in both subcultures, as well as in the role of agents. Authenticity is transferred to objects in traditional religions, while in the New Age sub- culture objects gain their meanings from perfection and novelty. Agents in traditional religions communicate authenticity to produets or to themselves. Agents in the New Age subculture communicate and create physical perfec- tion and novelty Yet, besides these differences, the request of traditional consumers for object authenticity has an impact on the organization of the market of religious goods and on its control. In cultures where consumers believe in an external source of objects’ power, a specific category of people might be associated with the definition, production, or distribution of sacred objects. In the case of the saint tradition, as mentioned before, the production and marketing of religious objects are partially managed by members of the saint’s family, who are interested in establishing the saint’s charisma and legitimacy (Bilu and Ben-Ari, 1992) as well as in advancing their economic interests. In the case of Catholic Christianity, the object must be properly invested by a Catholic priest who has been granted the power to invest it. Authority is constructed and maintained through meticulous rules and definitions communicated to the believer that the effectiveness of the object is dependent on the institutional church (McDannell, 1995). Similar mechanisms of con- trol appear in other Christian groups such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (McDannell, 1995). On the other hand, when there is no request for object authenticity, con- sumers have the freedom to choose from a variety of objects, and, at the same time, the opportunity to produce, introduce, or market new mystic objects is open to all. As a response to my question, “Do you check who produces mystic objects?” almost all New Agers said that they do not. (The exception was with regard to oils; their quality is important, especially to practitioners who use them in their work.) When I asked participants, “Can anybody produce and market mystic objects?”, participants gave a positive answer. Three people said that the producer should have good inten- tions. Thus, within the New Age subculture, the market is open to all. Consumer Goods and the Movement of Meaning from Good to Consumer Culture is not the only source that gives symbolic meaning to objects; con- sumers can also develop their own individual meanings associated with products. The movement of meaning from goods to consumers is performed © 2003 Social Compass, Al rights reserved, Hot for commorcil use or unavthorized distribution,356 Social Compass 50(3) in different ways, such as rituals of gift exchange and cleaning in North American society (McCracken, 1988). ‘The two subcultures differ with regard to the importance of individuals as source of meaning attribution to objects. In traditional religions, the major sources of meaning attribution are external to the individual consumer, ‘Agents are expected to invest sacred meaning into secular objects by follow- ing a specific set of rules and regulations and by having the qualifications to do so. They are also expected to introduce those objects that already contain power. Once objects are invested with power, the belief is that people observe the power or blessing of objects regardless of their awareness of it. Thus, for example, objects that have been blessed by the saint can help, cure, and pro- tect anybody. Similarly, the purified food that has been introduced to gods in Hindu temples contains power, and anyone, whether a believer or not, can be purified by it Once objects are invested with meaning, the second source of meaning attribution is the individuals themselves. Religious objects may function as material reminders of significant events, people, moods, and activities for the individual in traditional religions by condensing and compressing memory (Bilu, 1988; McDannell, 1995). Yet, within the saint tradition, this second source of meaning attribution, the individual consumer, is less impor- tant than the cultural world. What is important in the object that one holds is its power. For the saint followers, meaning has already been invested in objects, and the role of individuals as meaning attributers to objects is secondary. In the New Age subculture, the individual consumer is very active in the process of attributing meaning to objects. After agents have transferred meaning to objects, the individual still needs to attribute his own meaning to objects, or to choose and singularize one object from the variety of com- modities suggested to him (Kopytoff, 1988). Consumers attribute meaning to objects in two ways: primarily by using their intuition, but also through inter- actions with sellers or through other sources of knowledge. ‘The following quotation taken from a narrative of a man who works as a hair designer demonstrates the first process: use a lot of stones [opens his coat and shows me one]. The stones create heat and give energy. But this is something a person learns for himself. I get into a store and take the first stone that I like. My son (who is 5 years old) gets into a shop and picks a stone. zing; he always picks the stone that he needs. He puts it in a small bag on Many others described the process of picking a stone, or choosing any other mystic object, when one is guided by one’s inner self. New Agers said, “the object should talk to me”, “it should do it to me”, or “I should be caught by it.” Often the way to be connected to an object or “*be caught by it” is through the senses. New Agers mentioned over and over that objects to which they are attracted have a good smell or look beautiful. © 2003 Social Compass, Al rights reserved, Hot for commercial use or unavthoried distribution,Zaidman: Commercialization of Religious Objects 357 Conclusion Participants from both subcultures believe in the power of certain kinds of objects. Yet results show that traditional and New Age subcultures differ with regard to participants’ perspectives on the commercialization of religious goods, the role of marketing agents, and the general characteristi of the market. Traditional consumers and New Agers differ with regard to their perspec- tives about the commercialization of religious goods. The demand for object authenticity, which is embedded in traditional religions, dictates that con- sumers are not willing to buy new objects unless these objects are proved to be authentic, i.e. there is a proof that they contain the power of a specific source. The culture system itself puts limitations on the introduction of new objects. Thus, for example, the cultural-theological system of North African Jews defines what objects can contain sacred meaning and be commercialized by agents (Zaidman and Lowengart, 2001). Yet even when commercialization of objects is performed according to the rules, traditional consumers may express resistance to the growth of religious markets because they create a threat to the relatively closed and familiar system of objects and to the essential notion of object authenticity. In other words, the bigger the market and the larger the variety of products for sale, the more difficult it is for the traditional consumer to locate authentic objects. On the other hand, when there is no demand for object authenticity, con- sumers have the freedom to choose from a variety of objects. New Agers, for example, are always looking for more and new goods. Our findings support, the argument that the New Age subculture endorses a spiritualized counter- part of capitalism—one that secks ever extended markets and new sources of marketable goods (York, 2001: 367). The role of the marketing agents is also different. Agents need to transfer meaning from the cultural world to the object (McCracken, 1988). When the demand for authenticity does not exist, agents have more freedom to invest different meaning in objects. Within the New Age subculture, we find that agents invest physical perfection and novelty in objects that are consistent with the participants’ cultural world. Yet, when there is no request for object authenticity, agents can introduce sacred meaning to secular objects. This is the case in an American Christian religious park where consumption of religious and secular objects was perceived as sacred when they were framed within the context of a sacred journey (O’Guinn and Belk, 1989). Agents in traditional religions, on the other hand, need to communicate the authenticity of the products or of themselves (Zaidman and Lowengart, 2001). Second, in traditional religions, more importance is given to the movement of meaning from the cultural world to the object. In the New Age subculture, the individual is the main source of meaning attribution, and authority rests in the individual as a consumer (van Hove, 1999; York, 1999). In traditional religions it is reasonable to assume the dominance of a collective and uniform © 2003 Social Compass, Al rights reserved, Hot for commorcil use or unavthorized distribution,358 Social Compass 50(3) pattern of thought, as compared to those common in a more individual- based subculture such as the New Age. Agents still hold an important role in transferring meaning to objects. Markets of religious goods are organized differently in both subcultures. In cultures where consumers believe in an external source of objects’ power, a specific category of people may be associated with the definition, production or distribution of sacred objects. In the case of the saint tradition, the production and marketing of religious objects are partially managed by members of the saint’s family. It is possible to assume that in traditional religions groups of people will compete in the market of religious goods, often using claims of affinity or authenticity in relation to the object’s source of power. Within the New Age subculture, the competition is indiv dually based. Marketing agents do not need to prove affinity to the object’s source of power, and the opportunity to produce and introduce new objects to the market is open to all. NOTE ' Exchange in goods and services among members of a New Age community is common in several countries (Mears and Ellison, 2000; Portrata, 2001). 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(2001) “The Marketing of Sacred Goods: Coi sumers and Retailers Interaction”, Journal of International Consumer Marketing 13: 5-27. © 2003 Social Compass, Al rights reserved, Hot for commorcil use or unavthorized distribution,360 Social Compass 50(3) Nurit ZAIDMAN isa senior lecturer, and head of the Strategy and Inter- national Management division in the Department of Business Adminis- tration, Ben-Gurion University, Israel. Her research interests include communication in multinational corporations, cross-cultural analysis of organizational behavior, spirituality in organizations, and the market- ing of sacred objects. ADDRESS: Department of Business Administra- tion, Ben-Gurion University, P.O.B. 653, Beer-Sheva, 84105 Israel. [email: zeidman@ bgumail-bgu.ac.il] (© 2003 Social Compass, Al rights reserved, Hot for commarcil use or unavthorized distribution,