Guy Ben-Porat and Yariv Feniger, Live and Let Buy? Consumerism, Secularization, and Liberalism

Secularism and liberalism are often perceived as interlinked and associated with the process of modernization and liberal democracy. Studies of Israel, however, cast doubts on this linkage as antiliberal and ethnocentric attitudes remain entrenched. Secular practices, religious beliefs, and religious practices can coexist within a bricolage of beliefs and behaviors. Secular practices related to everyday life are not necessarily related to a deeper belief system and values associated with liberalism; the commercialization of the Israeli public sphere does not significantly change existing nonliberal perceptions and the structure of Israel as a nonliberal democracy. Secularism and liberalism can develop separately, and the secularization of the public sphere does not necessarily entail a commitment to religious freedom, to toleration associated with liberalism, and, consequently, to liberal democracy.