How Religion has Embraced Marketing and the （宗教是如何接受营销和）.pdf

Journal of Management and Marketing Research, Volume 2 How Religion has Embraced Marketing and the Implications for Business Ann Kuzma Minnesota State University, Mankato Andrew Kuzma Yale University John Kuzma Minnesota State University, Mankato ABSTRACT Religion, in many respects, is a growth industry. One particularly successful manifestation of this growth is the megachurch, defined as a Protestant church with at least 2,000 weekly attendants. On the other hand, many mainstream Protestant churches have experienced membership declines. The purpose of this paper is to explore the success of the megachurch from a marketing strategy perspective. The implications that this might have on the discipline of marketing and business in general will be discussed. Directions for future research are identified. How Religion Has Embraced, Page 1 Journal of Management and Marketing Research, Volume 2 INTRODUCTION On August 16, 2008, Pastor Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California hosted U.S. presidential candidates John McCain and Barrack Obama in a nationally televised question and answer session. The Saddleback Civil Forum on Presidency was the first time both candidates had appeared on stage since becoming the presumptive nominees for their respective parties. The location of this event, Saddleback Church, is typically referred to as a megachurch (Murray Bacon, 2008). The Hartford Institute for Religion Research describes megachurches as very large, Protestant congregations that generally have 2,000 or more persons in attendanc