The Darwinian adaptability of American religions
• Skeptics & Atheists
Michael Shermer, editor of Skeptic, reviews Knocking on Heaven's Door: American Religion in the Age of Counterculture by Mark Oppenheimer:
Religion is inescapably Darwinian, evolving to fill empty niches and mutating to compete with cultural competitors. Nowhere is this adaptability more apparent than in the United States, where the separation of church and state has forced religion to compete with other cultural traditions and social institutions for the minds, souls and dollars of consumers. A spiritual free market has produced a mιlange of cults, sects and religions, from Mormons and Moonies to Scientologists and Southern Baptists, all of whom have adopted the uniquely American style of advertising and marketing their products and services.
Los Angeles Times: Countering the counterculture