Acquisition Centrality, Locus of Control and the Influence of Religion in Everyday Life: The Case of Urban Consumer Class of Bangladesh

Abstract

Abstract The present study addresses the consequences of materialistic value-orientation (i.e. Acquisition Centrality) on the effect of the sense of control on religious experiences of the urban consumer class of Bangladesh. The central thesis is that economic transformation may contribute to the materialistic value-orientation and exert a control on the social experience; nonetheless, it would not exert any effect between the relationship of the Locus of Control and the role of religion. To test the thesis, the research investigates; given the economic growth begets acquisition centrality on a larger scale and these values, in return, often form the new purpose of social lives and emerge as a potential social force of modernity. Can religion as a century-old social institution continue to have strong-hold on the definition of social reality? To answer the question, this Cross-sectional research administered a survey of 1246 respondents from ten randomly selected distinct areas of Dhaka city and analyzed the data within a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework. The findings suggest that the people with high (External) sense of control are more likely to be influenced by their religious experiences and the people with low (Internal) sense of control have high Acquisition Centrality; Acquisition Centrality strengthened the influence of External Locus of Control on the influence of religion.