Branding and Marketing Religion

Mara Einstein writes about the use of branding and marketing in a religious context in her article ‘The Evolution of Religious Branding’. She suggests that religious institutions such as the Church of Scientology and the United Methodist Church use marketing to boost their reputation and reposition traditional denominations (331).

As new media technologies, such as television and especially the Internet, provide ‘spiritual alternatives’ the traditional church is suffering. Nowadays, worship, prayer and even rituals such as communion and baptism can be performed in an online context. Not only is this format of modern ‘churchgoing’ convenient and effortless, but, as Einstein (2011) notes, it also allows worshippers to try a number of different platforms of worship in order to find an online church that suits their changing and growing needs (332).

However, some people, such as Hutchings (2010) argue that ‘shopping around’ online creates a lack of solidarity that goes against the traditional Christian commitment of belonging to a single, local church community.

Therefore, as these new issues emerge, so too does a need for traditional religious institutions to ‘rebrand’ and market themselves for a changing society. Einstein (2011) suggests that churches are revising their “product” (shorter, more entertaining services) in order to capture the attention of followers and boost participant numbers (332). This ‘branding’ also seeks to “increase awareness, change perceptions and generate sales” (Einstein, 2011, 332).

This is particularly evident when considering the marketing tactics of the Church of Scientology. Einstein (2011) even recognizes that the Church of Scientology uses a sort of problem/solution-based advertising in order to position themselves in a positive and altruistic light (333).

One other example worthy of consideration is the recent marketing efforts by the Mormon Church. There were a series of advertisements depicting different ‘stories’ from typical Australian people. Each advertisement would have the person talking about their life, with the tag line at the end being “…and I’m a Mormon”. The Mormon Church then followed somewhat in the footsteps of the Church of Scientology by developing a well-equipped, eye catching website.

Its fascinating that religion, a phenomenon that seems so individualistic and spiritual, needs to fall at the feet of marketing and branding. However, at the same time, it also seems like a natural progression in a time when our lives is ruled by spin, smoke and mirrors and representations of reality.

Einstein, M 2011, The Evolution of Religious Branding, Social Compass, Sage Publication

Hutchings, T 2011, Contemporary Religious Community and the Online Church, Information, Communication and Society, Umea University, Sweden