ABSTRACT
Marketing and branding practices are well established among contemporary megachurches. Proselytizing the gospel, growth, and market expansion occur alongside business operations that range from selling merchandise, music, media programs, venue hire, schools, hospitals, and childcare services, to name a few. Despite criticisms, practices that blend religion and business are not uncommon among megachurches. In this chapter, we review existing literature on the ways in which megachurches operate as businesses and promote themselves using techniques of marketing and branding. Moving beyond the normative dichotomy that business and religion should be separate social spheres, we outline a topology of different ways of understanding the relationship between business and religion in megachurches and conclude by articulating an agenda for future research.
