"Entre a Cruz e a Espada": um estudo sobre o posicionamento ideológico das marcas e o comportamento de consumo de cristãos conservadores e pessoas sem religião

Abstract

Starting from the context of Brazilian sociocultural polarization, in which consumption operates as a tool for negotiation between tradition and modernity, this study aimed to understand how conservative Christian consumers, non-religious consumers, and brand representatives perceive the ideological positioning of companies and its repercussions on consumption behavior, focusing on brands whose positioning is linked to social, moral, and/or religious issues. This qualitative study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with 11 participants selected through non-probabilistic sampling, using a snowball technique, comprising four practicing Christians, five non-religious individuals, and two brand representatives, analyzed using the categorical content analysis technique. The results indicate that, among conservatives, factors such as price and quality prevail, so that loyalty to personal belief rarely translates into consumer boycotts, since this group does not typically research a brand's moral positioning beforehand, although it remains more susceptible to religious influence in defining moral values. In contrast, among non-religious individuals with secular spirituality, a group composed mostly of young people, social responsibility and the brand's ideological alignment function as more decisive factors for loyalty or disruption. Among brand representatives, a divergence emerged between neutrality and engagement as legitimate strategies, both grounded in a shared demand for consistency between discourse and practice. The findings were also interpreted in light of social identity theory, showing that religiosity, or its absence, shapes symbolic consumption criteria in distinct ways, without necessarily determining actual purchasing behavior.