5.15.2005

And the meek will inherit...? The Southern Baptists are launching niche churches: cowboy churches, country music churches, motorcycle churches. The World Changers Church International—fittingly run by Pastor Dollar—preaches the "prosperity gospel" which posits God wants his followers to be wealthy (really?), and these World Changers are exporting churches to South Africa and Nigeria. And, for the wee ones, Groeschel's Life Church in Edmond, Oklahoma, includes a "Toon Town" of 3D buildings, a 16-foot high slide, and an animatronic police chief who recites rules.

While the values of Jesus may seem a bit obscured by all the bells and whistles, these evangelical churches are among the fastest growing in the US: every two days, on average, a new megachurch opens in the US. How are these churches garnering such success? Through sophisticated marketing and branding strategies pulled not from the Good Book but from the pages of corporate America. BusinessWeek dedicates an entire issue to "Evangelical America" and the big business of "faith." Plus: More on the "prosperity gospel" and Christian capitalism.

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