Spirituality, Organization and Neoliberalism

This book brings together analyses from across the social sciences to develop an interdisciplinary approach to understanding spiritualities and neoliberalism. It traces the lived experience of social actors as they engage with new and alternative spiritualities in neoliberal contexts.

An international group of authors in anthropology, sociology, religious studies, political science, and critical management studies explore the contemporary flourishing of subjectivities centred on a variety of spiritual practices and imaginaries. The book analyses the social and organizational mechanisms that underlie the generation of ‘enterprising’ and ‘competitive’ subjectivities engaged in transforming inner selves and social environments in accordance with prevailing neoliberal economic rationalities. Contributions draw on a wide range of empirical settings around the world to discuss the role of subjectivities in organizations. The purpose of the book is to provide specific insights into how neoliberalism is resisted, contested or reproduced through a transformative ethic of spiritual self-realization.

Researchers, academics and Master’s-level students in a range of social science disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, human geography, and organization studies, will find this book relevant reading.