title: Finding brands and losing your religion?
abstract: Religion is a powerful force in many people's lives, impacting decisions about life, death, and everything in between. It may be difficult, then, to imagine that something as seemingly innocuous as the usage of brand name products might influence individuals' commitment to religion. However, we demonstrate across 6 studies that when brands are a highly salient tool for self-expression, individuals are less likely to report and demonstrate strong religious commitment. We suggest that a desire to maintain consistency among self-identities is one important driver of this relationship and find that the effect is mitigated when the perceived distance between brands and religious values is minimized.
authors.affiliation: Wharton School.
authors.forename: Keisha M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Cutright
authors.affiliation: Stern School of Business, New York University.
authors.forename: Tülin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Erdem
authors.affiliation: Fuqua School of Business, Duke University.
authors.forename: Gavan J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Fitzsimons
authors.affiliation: Arison School of Business, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya.
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shachar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012067:Religion; D012649:Self Concept; D012933:Social Identification; D055815:Young Adult