Religion A Marketable Product

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I don’t know why I never considered religion as a product like vacuum cleaners, tea, coffee, dishwasher, face creams, shaving gadgets, cars or clothes. I guess it’s because it is very violent. There were crusades in ancient times. Today people who profess god is love carry heavy guns, overthrow governments elected through the ballot box, raid schools, rape and take girls as ‘wives.’

Religion is a product and it is marketed, judging from a letter we got in the mail on Friday, inviting the public to an online conference. It is from a religious cult traditionally associated with knocking on doors and marketing Jesus. I suppose they had to change the marketing strategy, because as the African proverb observed, the dance changes when the drums change. Security in housing estates, condo and apartment buildings tightened up because the world has become more desperate and more violent.

So knocking on doors is virtually impossible now. This cult has been around for such a long time, you find a line or two about it in novels and movies. The invitation for the conference shows that the cult knows what print and online marketing is all about. That’s why they enclosed a  little flyer with its website and the reassurance that: Free Program. No login or registration required.

Religion is a product and must be marketed online because the market itself is saturated, too many religions chasing the same dollar from poor people. Marketing is also for recruitment, young volunteers for mass shootings and committing suicide for the cause.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.

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