COP 03 / Lecture 01 / Tasks

What I want to find out

• Is religion a brand? 
• Brand theory: what makes a successful brand? 
• Who are the key thinkers in relation to brand theory? 
• When did branding begin to become as universal as it is today? 
• Who started the marketing of religion? 
• Can brand theories be related to religion/religious marketing? 
• How is religion distributed compared to other time periods? 

Primary: Is religion a brand?
Secondary: An investigation into brand theory and religious marketing.



Key texts as of now

EINSTEIN, M (2008). Brands Of Faith. Oxfordshire, Routledge

DURKHEIM, E. (1961). The elementary forms of the religious life. New York, Collier Books.

HOOVER, S (2006). Religion in the Media Age. Routledge

BELLAH, R.N., Madsen, R., W, S., Swidler, A. and Tipton, S. (1988) Habits of the heart: Middle America observed. London: HarperCollins Publishers.

PACKARD, V. (1980) The hidden persuaders. Pocket.

HENDERSON, G. (1989). LOGOLOGY AND THEOLOGY: KENNETH BURKE AND THE RHETORIC OF RELIGION. Method & Theory in the Study of Religion.

OLINS, W. (2003) Wally Olins on B(r)and. London: Thames & Hudson.

Structure

Introduction
Chapter one
Chapter two
Chapter three
Conclusion

Planning the project


Week one - Research into basics of religion, key thinkers. Revisit old sociology notes as an introduction/refresh.


Week two - Research. Find books on religious marketing. Make notes / quotes. Refine question & tutorial.


Week three - Presentation. Firmly decide on question. Brand theory research and collate documents of notes and key concepts.


Week four - Structure the essay into chapters. Begin looking for interviewees and think about primary research. Take note of any public religious speakers/themes.


Week five - Begin writing. Introduction & notes for chapter 1. Get feedback.


Week six - Work on feedback for introduction. Try and complete first chapter in preparation for tutorial. Gather more contextual sources and notes. Brainstorm for practical.


Week seven - Refine first chapter and begin the second, 500-1,000 additional words. Begin research into practical piece.


Week eight - Tutorial and feedback


Week nine -


Week ten -


Week eleven -


Week twelve -

COP 03 / Presentation & Reflection

After presenting I was provided with a lot of advice and information to look into however it was clear that I was unable to present a lot of visual examples of religious propaganda, and the links to design were not as strong. Even though there would have been research yet to be completed I would have hoped to have had some solid examples and research by this point. The presentation was a great method of gaining feedback as I was aware that my project was not as refined as I would have liked at the moment.

As I have now decided to alter my question I thought it would be useful to make a new presentation ahead of the tutorial on Tuesday. This will make it easier to propose my ideas. 

COP 03 / Alec's Feedback

After emailing Alec about my question he gave me some valuable feedback and considerations:


- Present a balanced argument to avoid a one sided piece of writing. This will help with triangulation. Critique the argument throughout.


- it would be interesting to look at not just that impact in terms of numbers, but how it resulted in the different “factions” establishing themselves.


- Just remember that when you consider their property portfolio, impressive as it is, that every Catholic church on the planet, is part of the Catholic church’s assets.


- While some religions are undoubtedly harnessing the internet to better effect than others and catching up a little in the process, some still opt for print. The Watchtower , produced by the Jehovah’s Witnesses is by far the largest print run of any magazine out there at a whopping 62 million copies every other month.

- In terms of brand theory, perhaps modern day rebranding or “shifts” concerning the attitude towards homosexuality or responses to accusations of child abuse could offer really solid contemporary evidence.

COP 03 / Pre-tutorial Considerations

If your question is now: "How does religion use brand theory to engage its audience?"

• Can you give me some specific examples of this?

Televangelists, Scientology, Jehovas Witnesses, Marketing for Passion of the Christ.


"Churches advertise on billboards and in print media. Books sell us all types of religious and spiritual wisdom. Television has become overrun with religious content with no fewer than eight channels presenting sermons and faith-based programming 24 hours a day, not to mention religious content in broadcast prime time and as regular content for nightly newsmagazines." (Einstein, 2008)

• Which example of branding theory have been used, or will you use to analyse? 

Looking at Vance Packard's 8 hidden needs it is apparent that religion for example provides a selection:

- Emotional Security
- Roots
- Immortality.

• Is branding theory self-consciously used by religions and explicitly stated as such, or is this something you are 'imposing from the outside'? 

Unclear as at this point in my research but as of my findings thus far, it is a bit of both. Religion has had to adapt to secularisation and the changing methods of distributing information. In most cases this has been embraced and used as platforms to 'sell' religious ideologies and compete against other religions. For example, as said in the quote, Churches now use means to advertise their agendas - billboards, print, online media. Some may say this is a change that has been subconscious, however it could be said that branding religion has been forced due to religion not being practiced in the same way as it was in previous time periods.

References

EINSTEIN, M (2008). Brands Of Faith. Oxfordshire, Routledge

PACKARD, V. (1980) The hidden persuaders. Pocket.

COP 03 / Lecture 02 / Methodologies and Critical Analysis / Notes

What is your methodology:

A logical systematic structural way of organising a research question and collating info. Evidence that you have reflected critically on various research methods and choose ones most appropriate for the project.

E.G library, internet, diary, observation, drawing, writing, questionnaire.

• Quantitative / Qualitative / Both
• What will you discover
• What will you be prevented from discovering
• What problems will you face setting up these methods
• What are their benefits 

Texts

The post graduate research hand book / Gina Wisker 

- Outline the methodology at the start of the dissertation.

Critical Analysis

Skepticism

Reasoned thinking

- Where was the author, artist, designer or photographer situated?

- Consider different points of view e.g intellectually, emotionally 

- Where am I coming from? e.g emotions. aspirations, context

Context is everything

COP 03 / Lecture 01 / Planning the Project / Notes

Organising your research project:

• Deadline 12th January 2-4pm
• 6-9000 word count

Planning the project:

• Write down all questions you want to investigate 
• Consider each on their own merits and focus on two (primary & secondary)
• Write an A4 'first thoughts' sheet
• What is the purpose of the study
• Is your question researchable?
• Refine working title 

Title

• Title should provide thesis 
• Could have a title and subtitle 
• No more than 15-20 words

Outline

• Timing 
• Holidays/work/life
• Different components

Literature

• Key literatures and texts on chosen topic
• Find secondary sources of key texts / criticisms (triangulation)
• www.jstor.org

Referencing 

• Bibliography at start
• Use harvard referencing
• Name, forename, date, place, publisher.

Chapters

• Different theoretical / methodological approach
• Conclusion draws together
• Move from general to specific

COP 03 / Primary Research / Selling Religion in the Streets

It is sometimes common to walk around any major city and discover individuals who have gone out of their way to spread their message regarding religion. Tactics are utilised to engage passers by in their rhetoric; attempting to persuade the audience into investing in their religion. The use of language is a key method. 

Whilst in Leeds center, there was a couple of examples which I took photos of.

For example, the first image conveys volume through the use of capitalisation, drawing the audience's eye into the main focus of this religion which is 'Jesus Christ'. There is use of archaic lexis, 'cleanseth', as this is a quote pulled from the Bible. Using inclusive pronouns gives the audience a sense of belonging and responsibility e.g 'us', 'our'. Although the people who made these signs did not write the Bible, their choice of quotes is important in that they have language that aims to engage and persuade.

Aesthetically, these signs are bright which catches the eye of passers by, and large sans serif type is easy to read whilst walking. 

Alongside this, individuals may read aloud passages from the Bible or even have their own speech to try and persuade the audience to believe in the ideologies they do - to sell the religion to an extent, in an increasingly secular Western society. "Over the last 60 years, religion in Europe has seen a strong decline. On average throughout the 27 EU countries, only half of its people believe in God and 25.4% directly say that they have no religion" (Crabtree, 2016) 

 These signs are hand rendered in capitals, again to convey volume and attract the eye of the audience passing them by. Within these signs is a semantic field of 'doom'; e.g 'perish', 'forsake' and 'sins'. It aims to create a sense of guilt in the audience, and even fear that they will be punished for any mistakes they make in life. Declarative structures such as "God is Angry" also induces fear in the audience, as it is presented as a fact. The use of the auxiliary verb 'will' also invokes a sense of inevitability.

References

Crabtree, V. (2016) Secularisation theory: Will Modern society reject religion? What is secularism?Available at: http://www.humanreligions.info/secularisation.html#Europe (Accessed: 22 October 2016).

COP 03 / Developing Question

On reflection and following a conduction of mostly unsuccessful succinct research I discovered that my original question was not the most fitting to the course - it was difficult to find visual examples of religious propaganda, in addition, the links to graphic design were fairly weak.

However I knew that Religion was something I would still like to concentrate on, but begin to consider a strategy in strengthening the link to design, whilst remaining true to my interests.

I am interested in brand identity and theory and so I wondered if this could be applied to religion, especially in contemporary society. I questioned whether religion is now an institution that is marketed towards the masses in contrary to it being majorly esoteric.

In effect, my question then evolved into:

It will be important to do research into brands and the methods they use to engage their consumers, and investigate whether these techniques are applied within Religion which could now be considered a 'religious marketplace' due to the competition each religious institution faces - much like brands face with their products e.g Apple Mac vs Windows PC.

This will be discussed in my tutorial scheduled next week, but I thought I would begin to look into this by reading some key texts including:

EINSTEIN, M (2008). Brands Of Faith. Oxfordshire, Routledge

HOOVER, S (2006). Religion in the Media Age. Routledge

OLINS, W. (2003). Wally Olins on brand. London, Thames & Hudson

Planning the Project 

I constructed a rough idea of how the dissertation structure may pan out, which could change but until then offers organisation to my project:

• Introduction
• Brand theory & examples
• Religious definitions
• Religion as a product
• Methods
• Relate to theory

Following an email from Ben, who will be my mentor for COP, he suggested I now think about the following bullet points:

• Can you give me some specific examples of this?
• Which example of branding theory have been used, or will you use to analyse? 
• Is branding theory self-consciously used by religions and explicitly stated as such, or is this something you are 'imposing form the outside'?

COP 03 / Initial Thoughts & Planning

Question:

How does propaganda influence religion?

Things I will be considering:

• The effects of the media
• Religion in the media
• Religious propaganda
• Secularisation
• Social aspects 

Initial questions and thoughts:

How has the influence of image, text and rhetoric shaped religion as an ideology, and the attitudes of those within these groups? Have there been any negative aspects? Is religion becoming more secular and why, is this a result of mass media? Examples of popular religious propaganda, including religious imagery in art. What semantics do individuals place into religion? Has the media demonised certain religious groups and through what methods? Can also look into Feminist theory on religion. 

The purpose of the study is to find out what role media has played in the influence of the masses on the topic of religion, and through what methods. To find out how design has been involved in this manipulation through the use of propaganda imagery and text. To research the social aspects of religious concepts and the behaviour and psychology related to how religion effects the individual. 

Texts to look into:

Hoover, M, Religion in the Media Age, 

Kantor, D, Graphic Design & Religion

Brown, J.A.C, Techniques of Persuasion: from propaganda to brainwashing

Singleton, A, Religion culture & Society

Beyer, P, Religion and Globalisation 

COP 03 / Summer Research

Throughout summer I visited Rome, a place with a rich religious history and vast amount religious locations. Within this trip I also got to see the Vatican. Whilst I was there, I noticed how interested I was in religion as a whole, and the imagery you see within different establishments such as the Vatican or a Methodist church in Lancashire, although they still have sacrement, they look very different. I began to take photos of what I saw throughout my trip, and eventually collated a publication with my photography titled Roma.

From this, I began to explore how religion could play a part in my COP module, since I was interested in the subject. I began to look into religious propaganda and branding, since I noticed that the Vatican had it's own gift shop selling branded goods. I asked myself, "is religion becoming a brand?"