Advertising and Religion

Advertising and Religion

Anyone who seems to be in the business of promoting themselves or their product is turning to religion to gain a larger audience. Take the religion of Kaballah for instance, five years ago many of us would openly admit that we had never heard of the religion before. But now, thanks to the media many of us know Kaballah is the religion practiced by such celebrities as Madonna and Britney Spears. In all actuality Kaballah is a more spiritual branch of the Jewish religion.

Many religions are now branching out and using the media to market their religion and sparking serious debates in the process. Many feel that it is slightly immoral for churches to use the media to market themselves in the mainstream. Some believe the religions should simply sell themselves, but not literally.

As Americans we now see television commercials for churches and services on regular broadcast channels. Another fairly recent trend that we see are churches in strip malls or plazas. Next to our favorite outlet cigarette shop, local retail store, Bingo hall, or fast food chain there are churches.

Much of the advertising we see for religions is on a smaller scale and not so mainstream. The religion of Jehovah's Witness often sends its members door-to-door to spread their word, give out information, in hope to maintain new members. Those of us who have been privileged with a visit know that they are early risers and like to travel in pairs, so as to take turns overwhelming us with spoken word and pamphlets.

One of the largest trends of advertising that we have seen is the wearing of a cross. What used to be a symbol of ones' beliefs and values has become a mere fashion accessory. In the world of celebrities and "bling-bling," a word associated with the amount of visible jewelry shown, a platinum cross medallion adorned with diamonds and/or jewels is a sign of wealth and defines your degree of celebrity.

However not everyone is into advertising religion in the mainstream. In January 2005 an article was published in USA Today about a conflict between Rolling Stone Magazine and Zondervan Bible, one of the largest Bible publishers over an ad targeted at "spiritually intrigued," 18-to-34-year-olds.

Rolling Stone, which rejected the ad just weeks before its scheduled run date, cited an unwritten policy against accepting ads that contain religious messages. Executives for Zondervan say Rolling Stone was a key part of its $1 million campaign targeted at young adults.

The actual ad doesn't even mention the word God, but the picture shows a young man apparently pondering the problems of life. The text in the picture pushes the Today's New International Version of the Bible (TNIV), one of Zondervan's publications, as a source for the "real truth" in a world of "endless media noise and political spin." A blue bible only peeks through the bottom corner of the ad.

With so many forms and dominance in the United States Christianity it is one of the most advertised religions. Advertising is also made that much easier by the rifts that form within groups of the same religion. A religion may steer itself at one race of people.

In Anchorage alone we have a Somoan, Spanish, Korean, and Native Assembly's of God. All of which promote the same ideas and beliefs, however they try to set themselves apart from one another.

Religion has also gained political recognition. Any debate or speech in opposition of abortion will definitely bring up the issue of religion in support of right to life and not committing murder. Likewise, Christians can argue against the corruption of homosexuality on the basis of the dangers of sexual promiscuity in an age of AIDS.

It has been argued that George W. Bush used his Evangical Christian ties to help him secure his second term in office. Yet, that strategy is also gaining him criticism. Some believe that he is letting religion influence his politics and use the Bible to support the policies he plans to pursue in the next four years.

One can only predict that the trend of religious advertising will only increase as America continues to grow as a diverse country. With each new culture comes a new religion to the spotlight and the debate over the morality of religious advertising will also continue to increase.

References

www.kaballah.com

www.usatoday.com/news/religion

www.economist.com

www.theprogressreport.org

http://www.abc.net/