"In focusing on the twin processes of marketization and mediatization, the intention is by no means to argue that markets and media constitute the only factors shaping religion today. Nor is the intention to argue that a focus on marketization and mediatization would provide the “best” way to study contemporary processes of institutional religious change. Having said that, the approach of this book is nevertheless grounded in the firm contention that a serious and systematic consideration of the impact of processes of marketization and mediatization as key vectors of social and cultural change in the post–World War II era has great potential to nuance and enrich already existing theoretical thinking on contemporary institutional religious change. This potential is, however, crucially dependent on the capacity of researchers to provide firmly empirically grounded arguments about exactly how processes of marketization and mediatization work to effect social, cultural, and institutional religious change. This book directs particular attention to the ways in which processes of marketization and mediatization have been accompanied by the spread of a set of powerful discourses and discursive formations that have proliferated throughout ever more social and cultural domains and increasingly come to underpin contemporary criteria of eff ective institutional and organizational life, agency, practice, and communication. The focus of this book thus lies firmly on the ideational and discursive dimensions of processes of marketization and mediatization. The book is further based on the premise that the ideational and discursive dimensions of marketization and mediatization have had the strongest and most clearly observable effect on long-established institutional Christian Protestant churches that have retained close structural relationships to states and core social establishments, and for which the gradual general transition from a previous vertical national-statist model of social organization toward a horizontal, deregulated, and market- inspired network model has been most challenging." (Introduction, page 8-9)

"The book provides a comprehensive analysis of how neoliberal ideologies and advanced media technologies have impacted traditional Christian Protestant institutions across the Western world, specifically focusing on the United States, Britain, and the Nordic countries. Moberg examines the discursive shifts within these religious institutions as they respond to and integrate market-oriented and media-savvy practices into their organizational structures and communication strategies. By utilizing discourse analysis, the study explores the increasing adoption of marketization and mediatization discourses within the church's official documents and communications, highlighting a transition towards a more consumer-oriented, efficiency-driven approach to religious practice and community engagement. This transformation is contextualized within broader socio-cultural and economic changes, emphasizing the role of neoliberalism and the expansion of digital media in reshaping societal institutions, including religious ones. Moberg argues that these shifts reflect a deeper integration of market and media logics into the fabric of religious institutions, challenging traditional models of church organization, communication, and engagement with congregations and society at large. The analysis reveals a nuanced landscape where institutional religious practices and identities are being renegotiated in the face of modern market dynamics and media environments, suggesting significant implications for the future of religious communities and their role in society." (Summary created by ChatGPT, March 20, 2024 - content not varifiec)