6. Going Deep

Extreme religions require the perfect combination of belief, leadership, membership and marketing in essence they are the most extreme manifestation of brand. Inside Scientology or even the New Yorker article the Apostate were fascinating explorations of marketing genius and the rewards and tribulations of building off of the cult of celebrity that is applicable to Nike as it is to the church.

Under the Banner of Heaven was a fascinating depiction of American extremism but I’ve been more fascinated by the ways that Mormonism has integrated itself into mainstream dialogue and often come off the better for it. Popular culture has been critical even mocking yet it still means that Mormons are at the center of popular discourse a powerful place to be.

On a more local level, I lived blocks from the Scientology Celebrity Center in Hollywood (the LA headquarters is pictured) and would watch the black coated Scientologists walking the streets with clipboards checking on the state of their well tended properties on our block. In fact when we bought in LA I was advised by a big real-estate developer to buy as close to where Scientologists own as possible. In many ways the Church of Scientology acted as better landlords and community developers than they did as a church. Janet Reitman the author of Inside Scientology suggests that even though we might be seeing the decline of church membership we may be seeing its rise as a business, considering the radical re-interpretations that the church has gone under to stay relevant moving from religion to business may actually be one of the smarter moves.