I think it was Satre who described atheism as a ‘god’ shaped hole in the heart, and commentators are saying that in this day and age of consumerism that more and more people are looking for some way to fill that hole. If there’s more information about the ‘way’ or ‘ways’ of religion then I think there’s more probability of people following than questioning.

Just look at the ads still running for ‘get rich schemes’ and the take up (and eventual loses).

Daniel, I was going to include countries as another example, but geez, I’m loathed to refer to ‘Australia’ as a brand - even if Baz Luhrmann and the national tourism commission aren’t!

I liked that Mother Theresa quote. Reminded me of a conference I was at and the bloke responsible for coordinating Australia’s response to the Boxing Day Tsunami (sorry, can’t remember his name) explained how he was called into his boss’ office and told “Fill a ship and do some good”.

St Paul was the first PR practitioner as he was able to facilitate an obscure cult into a succinct religious group. The word propaganda, often used to describe the results of PR practitioners, has its origins in the church as part of the great commission - to go and propagate the word of god. And lets not forget about the inquisition - a marketing coup de grace.

What I find particularly interesting (and a tad worrying) is when such an incredibly powerful message (again, whichever you follow) is coupled with incredibly powerful communication methods.

Will our new age of communication also create a new age of religious zeal?