Commercialisation of Religion in Contemporary India: Sociological and Economic Aspects

Abstract

India has a long and rich history of religious practice being intertwined with Economic life. However, there are few scholarly studies of religion that engage with it through both the economic and sociological lens. This study is an attempt towards that direction. In this study we examine how religious devotees interact with religion in ways that shape the religious economy. We conducted 31 Interviews of with urban practitioners across age groups and socioeconomic backgrounds. By drawing on the interviews, this paper examines the commercialisation of religion in contemporary urban India as a socio-economic phenomenon operating at three interrelated levels: the supply-side institutional behaviour of temples and religious platforms, the market for religious commodities, and the individual devotional experience. We analyse five empirical themes: the moral economy of paid religious access and the theological tension between relational and transactional devotion the corporatisation of temples and a widespread institutional distrust the emergence of performative religiosity and its (possible) amplification by digital platforms the demand for philosophical substance amid an unmet educational demand in commercial religious spaces and generational divergence in how authenticity in religious life is defined and evaluated. These findings are situated within an economic framework combining market analysis, identity economics, and network effects theory to explain why commercially mediated religious practices persist and spread even among practitioners who express moral reservations. A complementary analysis of the digital religious supply-side which span quick commerce, traditional e-commerce, and niche platforms reveals active, supply-driven market segmentation of devotional goods. Together, the demand-side interview data and supply-side market analysis offer a triangulated account of how religious practice and commercial logic interact in urban India today.