McDonaldization of Rituals: An Economic Perspective on the Implementation of Hindu Religious Ceremonies
Abstract
This study examines the phenomenon of McDonaldization in the practice of Hindu religious ceremonies from a Hindu economic perspective. Normatively, Hindu religious ceremonies are dharmic practices that integrate spiritual, social, and economic (artha) dimensions as a means of achieving prosperity and spiritual liberation (moksa). However, in the context of modern society characterized by globalization, urbanization, and the rationalization of socio-economic life, ritual practices have undergone significant transformations. This study uses a qualitative approach with a critical-interpretive paradigm and a case study design. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and documentation studies, then analyzed using the interactive analysis model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldana. The results show that the implementation of Hindu religious ceremonies has undergone a process of McDonaldization that works through four main dimensions, namely efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control. This process encourages the use of ritual services and ready-made ritual packages, shifts the assessment of ritual quality to material measures, standardizes the form and pattern of ceremonies, and strengthens the dominance of ritual service providers, shifting the authority of ritual knowledge from the community to a market-based service system. From a Hindu economic perspective, the McDonaldization of rituals creates tension between artha and dharma. This study concludes that the McDonaldization of rituals is an ambivalent and dialectical phenomenon that should not be rejected outright, but rather needs to be ethically guided so that the modernization of rituals remains in harmony with Hindu dharmic values and spiritual meanings.
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