ABSTRACT
In a recent book, Catholic theologian Vincent Miller describes with alarm the rise of a new culture of commodities and religious consumption that he fears is leading to the ‘abstraction and fragmentation of religious traditions’ (Miller 2004: 10). Whereas the commodification of religion may make a Catholic theologian fear for the sacramental integrity of his religion, it appears to foster a tone of ironic cynicism among social scientists. In a recent article, for example, John and Jean Comaroff discuss the global proliferation of what they call ‘occult economies’, for example, the use of magic to produce wealth without production, and ‘prosperity cults’ that they des cribe as ‘feefor-service, consumer-cult, prosperity-gospel denominations’ (Comaroff and Comaroff 2000: 314). Although their approach is analyti cal, they also appear to mock these forms of ‘millennial capitalism’, joking, for example, that for millions of members, ‘the Second Coming evokes not a Jesus who saves, but one who pays dividends’ (Comaroff and Comaroff 2000: 315).
