The Effects of Religion and Culture on Consumer Behavior

The Effects of Religion and Culture on Consumer Behavior

Religion and Culture play an important role in influencing consumer

behaviour in relation to food intake

“Human beings are not born with a set of behaviour, they have to learn

it. What they learn is dictated by the culture into which they are

born or within which they grow up” – J Bareham (1995)

Culture makes us similar to some people but different to the vast

majority. It is learnt as a person grows up within society and can be

either taught or imitated. Formal instruction comes from parents but

a person also learns by imitating peers and persons in the media.

Culture compromises of many aspects such as Language, Politics,

everyday food habits and Religion with considerable variation across

the world, for example in China, which is predominantly Buddhist, it

is acceptable to eat Dog but not Beef, as Cows are considered sacred.

“People in Western society find it difficult to understand that the

Chinese eat dogs, because dogs remind them of people and as such are

treated as pets and objects of affection.” – J Bareham (1995)

Religion is a large and intertwined part of culture and often with

religions such as Judaism, the defining feature of a culture.

Religious dietary practise can serve a number of purposes including

contact with supernatural forces, sacrifices to the Gods to

demonstrate faith and fasting to show rejection of worldliness.

Religious dietary practise also enhances identity and belonging, and

differentiates between other religions. For example Sikhs cannot eat

Halal or Kosher meat as they do not believe in the practise of ritual

sacrifice the...

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...for you but with

recent new research and ‘fashionable’ diets such as Atkins consumer

opinion is now changing and these foods are no longer seen as health

promoting but instead as products that will prevent weight loss. This

is just one example of how consumer opinion can and does change in

relation of food intake.

Bibliography

Consumer Behaviour in the Food Industry – A European Perspective

Jonathan Bareham

Butterworth Heinemann (1995)

Food, Health and the Consumer

T. R. Gormley, G. Downey and D. O’Beirne

Elsevier Applied Science (1987)

Dietary Trends in the United Kingdom

Judith Frank

University of Bradford – Review Paper (1987)

www.faithandfood.com

- Qur’an

- Guru Nanak – Asa Di Var

- The Manusmrti

www.betterhealth.vic.gov

www.digitalhistory.uh.edu