Wellbeing: a new religion?

Lucy Blakemore and Claire Langham

Based on UK and European research conducted by Synovate in 2004, Clare Langham and Lucy Blakemore argue that wellbeing - a combination of physical, emotional and spiritual fulfilment - is more relevant to the modern consumer than religion, which it replaces, and that modern marketing is fuelling this trend (if, indeed, it didn't create it).

Wellbeing: A New Religion?

Claire Langham and Lucy BlakemoreSynovate

Once, Religion formed the cornerstone of society. It gave us values to live by, a crutch to lean on, rituals to follow, mentors to guide us and communities to bond with. Today, our quest appears to be for a different and altogether more selfish kind of fulfilment: physical and emotional wellbeing.

The focus on me (and, at a push, my family) is at the heart of our modern-day obsession with yoga, massage, counselling, self-help and other individualistic, self-focused pursuits. For many, organised religion is being superseded by the...

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