Buying behaviour and symbolic consumption of food and alcoholic beverages among people with religious affiliations in Bogota, Colombia

This paper aims to describe the buying behaviour of people with religious affiliations from the perspective of the symbolic consumption of food products and alcoholic beverages in Bogota. A qualitative methodology, with a non-experimental and cross-sectional design was applied. The technique used is an in-depth interview with a “snowball” sampling technique. Participants, ranging from 20 to 30 years of age, were identified by the criteria from youth groups with a defined and internalized religious affiliation in their everyday lives. The findings include the description of a buying behaviour with significant restrictions, conditioned by the individuals’ religious affiliation or beliefs. Some habits, such as fasting and the importance of health and image regarding both food and alcoholic beverages, are listed as well as the type of symbolic consumption with religious community leaders teaching and recommending customs that are consistent with their doctrine.