My research examines social change resulting from or intimately related to phenomena of cultural complexification characterizing the postmodern condition.
I have conducted and directed research on cultural change: (i.) on marketing and consumer approaches to religions’ institutional growth and financial gain (for example, here and here); (ii.) on the use of religious symbols in commercial advertising (for example, here and here); (iii.) in relation to the re-valorization of religions on the public stage as communicative resources (for example, here); (iv.) in connection with popular religiosity and related institutional responses, such as canonizations of the Catholic Church, pilgrimages, and exorcisms (for example, here); (v.) on Pope Francis’s communication strategy and framing by international news media (for example, here); and, more recently, (vi.) on the repurposing of empty churches into restaurants, breweries, hotels, and other commercial spaces (for example, here).
I am now trying to synthesize the various phenomena into a single theoretical framework, in which the concepts of field, popular recognition, conflict, and negotiation, as well as the role of the media, collective movements, and individuality, play a central role. The theory-research relationship remains essential in my work, as it helps me identify the underlying principles of the post-modernity in which we live and its rapid transformations.