2007年VOA标准英语-The Business of Religion

It used to be that companies were in the business of selling products and churches were in the business of promoting faith. Today the line between religion and the marketplace is blurring¹.  Faith-based marketing² generates nearly $5 billion a year in revenue.  And as VOA's Mil Arcega reports, some well-known companies are bringing religion to the boardroom.

Prayer used to be something most Americans practiced in private.  But faith is becoming much more public.  Even President Bush takes his faith to work.  "We are a nation of prayer" he said.

At Chick Fil A, which serves up more than a billion dollars of chicken sandwiches and fries every year -- prayer is penciled into corporate³ meetings.  Management encourages employees to stay married and the chicken chain's stores are closed on Sunday.

Tim Tassopoulos

Chick Fil A's philosophy is part of a growing movement.  The In and Out Burger chain prints bible verses on the bottom of its cups. 

Ford⁶, AOL, American Airlines and Intel - all support employee faith groups. 

Kelly Shackleford, chief counsel at the Liberty Legal Institute says it's all well and fine -- as long as employers don't force their faith on others. "They go too far when they step over the line and try to force or coerce⁷ or require employees to follow a particular religious belief or practice."

But at work or in the shopping mall, the marketing of religion is here to stay.

Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ movie made more than $600 million at the box office. 

Agencies such as Marketplace Chaplains, says business is way up.

And last year, stores selling so called "Christian⁸ products" took in more than $4.6 billion.

Bill Anderson is the head of the Christian Retail⁹ Association. "The industry has grown from books and bibles to include music and apparel and cards and jewelry¹⁰ and children's products.  It's really a Christian lifestyle store."

David Socha with Messengers of Faith dolls

Wal-Mart, the world largest retailer¹⁴ is test marketing the dolls.  But whether Old Testament¹⁵ heroes can beat new world heroes like Spiderman or Barbie remains¹⁶ to be seen.  The final judgment¹⁷ is likely to come not from a bearded man in the clouds but from children sipping¹⁸ sno-cones.