Religion as a Brand

It was at a recent summit which I attended that I had a speaker mentioning that religion was rather like a ‘brand’ of the company God Ltd. He elaborated a little, not to inform or influence or hurt the public’s sentiments in any way, but to get us thinking about the same.

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I admit, I for one was stumped when he first mentioned this metaphorical example but when I pondered over the subject, I did indeed realize that his words might have been true in a way. The various religions indeed are all different paths to the Almighty, the power in the heavens, Bhagwaan, Allah, the All Father, the Everlasting Flame and so on and so forth. That power may have different names but I like to believe that everything humankind worships is one single entity morphed into different forms by human imagination through time and culture.

Hence, by that logic of mine, different religions do seem to be the brands of a single corporation operating at different places according to one’s folklore and collective histories.

As I gave more thought to this theory, the more intrigued I got, even more so when I actually managed to pinpoint some things that had been said at the summit. There are parts of brands that are irrevocably linked with it, and the same seemed to be the pattern with religions. Here are some of them:

Logo:

Each religion seems to have its own logo. If the religion does not have a definitive one, individual deities certainly seem to do. In case of a monotheistic religion, the one deity also seems to be represented by a certain symbol that can, in my view, be considered a logo.

Jingles:

Each religion has its set of jingles if not one. These jingles may vary over time and language and across cultures if the religion is widespread, however, they do exist. They are also known as hymns and bhajans. It sometimes happen that these jingles may closely resemble those from other religions but that only seems to happen if two or more religions are interspersed within a common population.

Colour Schemes:

Each religion also does seem to have its own colour scheme, the colour worn by those who serve the deity. Of course, these are also bound to variation over time, space and cultural orientation. But still, a common colour scheme is usually apparent in organized religions, may they be large or small. It would be partial to name the colours of only a few religions, so abstaining would be the best option.

Brand Ambassadors:

Almost all religions have brand ambassadors in the form of prophets; the messenger who interprets the works of their deity and pushes everyone along to promote their religion as one does a brand. They have usually traveled places, helped people and persuaded people to follow their brand of God in the past, that’s where I draw my reference from.

Hence, I’ve come to accept the fact that religions are in fact different brands enticing people to choose their particular road to eternal salvation. That does not of course mean that any brand is better than the others. This post has not been written to hurt the religious sentiments of people of any religion. It’s also not to offend the Lord, obviously. It is just a harmless observation on situations presented in and around us. This post is a work of fiction and is supposed to be treated in the humorous way in which it was written.