I was listening to the Marketplace Morning Report on public radio the other day when host Lisa Napoli’s juxtaposition of the following made me sit up and listen: God and branding.

In my limited experience with Hinduism, religious branding is limited to kitschy bags like the following:

But this wasn’t about bags or other kitschy religious merchandise. Just what was Napoli talking about?

She was having a conversation with James Twitchell, the author of the book Shopping for God. Twitchell claims that while there seems to be a surge in the number of people who consider themselves religious, this increase has to do more with marketing than spiritual awakenings. Television evangelists have become marketing gurus who deftly package God in ways designed to satisfy their target audiences.

I’m reminded of the efforts that have been made to improve marketing and branding by understanding how and why the religious become true believers. What do the devout and brand loyalists have in common? According to this list by Martin Lindstrom, religion and powerful brands both create:

1. A sense of belonging
2. A clear vision
3. Power from the enemy
4. Authenticity
5. Consistency
6. Perfection
7. Symbols
8. Mystery
9. Rituals
10. Sensory appeal

So we’ve come full circle: where once branding executives looked to religion for answers, clergy are now looking to marketing for insights into drawing crowds to sermons. According to Twitchell, religious organizations are studying the tastes of young people and targeting them accordingly. The influence of marketing agencies have led to rockstar-performance sermons, faith-based fashion magazines, and other innovations. And lifestyle branding is drawing people to faith by analyzing what they find most comfortable and relevant, meeting the younger generation’s demand for quick, flashy, and hip ways of being spiritual.