Religious Entrepreneurship: The Profitability of the Product Called “God”

Abstract

The spate of proliferating god-men/god-women in India, the emerging diverse sects, sub-sects of religions, and the novel means used to propagate religious practice, all draw one to the hypothesis that the Religious Entrepreneurship will soon, if it has not done so already, emerge into prominence. This paper observes the intersection of entrepreneurship and religion in contemporary times. It takes a perspective of how religion is used as a commodity, and how religious entrepreneurship may thus emerge as a viable commercial option for a distinct type of entrepreneurs. It posits questions such as: In this nexus between “Faith” based concepts and those based on (worldly) materialism, where does individual integrity stand? In the commitment of individuals towards the “God” of their beliefs, where does responsibility towards the Self and the Other stand? And it attempts to arrive at new possibilities that arise in the intermingling of Religion and Entrepreneurship.