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The Common Attributes Between Religion And Brands

Decent Essays

It is widely known that organized religion has dramatically shaped every aspect of human identity for several years. For example, in a society currently bombarded by material objects and cluttered advertisements, an interesting relationship between brands and religion has formed. Despite the correlation between the two being invisible to the naked eye, academic scholars have taken great interest in researching how brands operate like religion. With that in mind, the purpose of this essay is to identify and analyze the common attributes between religion and brands. This analysis begins with working definitions of both concepts, in addition to discussing the common attributes which include: formation of human community, focus on human desire, and entering into human relations of exchange. Accordingly, by drawing on David Chidester’s text, Authentic Fakes: Religion and American Popular Culture (2005), this paper will argue that Apple, an iconic brand, is an authentic fake doing real religious work.
For starters, it is important to define the term “religion” as many different definitions circulate. Chidester (2005) offers a simple definition, which states that “religion provides ways of being a human in a place” (p.3). Since religion is known to be a complex concept, Chidester’s definition is functional because he does not put restrictions on what religion is. Instead, the importance is placed on the element of human experience that will not only bring individuals together, but

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