Manufacturing A Religion
Cheater’s Edition

by Dark1nf3rn0
edited by Darwin takes on religion (literally)

While it may seem difficult, if not impossible, to create a religion whose only aims are money and power, current studies in the field of social psychology show that this is not the case. The following article will show how to grow a cult following of Nils’ infamous “Bobo the Celestial Donkey” and how to profit from this cult. Through the use of social influence, namely reciprocation, commitment, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity, a con-artist is sure to remain unscathed in the battleground of religion.

Unwanted Gifts: A Religious Date-Rape Drug

It is in our nature to receive. If it wasn’t in our nature to receive, then no one would have any incentive to give. The exchange of goods is a fundamental building block of society. A society without cooperation is not a society at all. The paradox is that exchanges are hardly equal. We tend to overcompensate for gifts, even if we didn’t want them in the first place.
If the goal of the Bobo head-priest is to gain money and followers, then some giving is in order. It would be wise for the head-priest to buy a few toy donkeys and write out a sort of Bible of Celestial Donkeyism. The priest would then mail out these two gifts in a preferably localized area along with a questionnaire and a subsequent plea for donations. While relatively few recipients will not respond, the majority will either (1) respond, (2) respond favorably, and (3) a certain percentage of the recipients will donate to the cause of Donkeyism.

Commitment: A Social Prison

In a social context, people who aren’t consistent receive such adjectives as flaky, dumb, and hypocrite. While consistency, in general, is a good psychological shortcut, this aspect can be manipulated as well.
The purpose of the questionnaire and gift is not only to receive money; it is also a tool to install commitment into the unsuspecting recipients. According to Carducci, Deuser, Bauer, Large, and Ramaekers (1989): “Research has shown that such trivial first commitments as agreeing to be interviewed can begin a “momentum of compliance” that induces such later behaviors as organ or bone marrow donations.”
The reason for this is not only to gather evidence from the external world to confirm our beliefs; we also look at our own behavior. If someone wrote a good review of Donkeyism, then to be consistent with that behavior, that person will supplant the doctrine of Donkeyism over any other belief in order to remain consistent. Now we begin to see how a couple toy donkeys, postage stamps, and sheets of paper will provide a return that is ten-fold of the investment.

Social Proof: If Everyone Is Jumping Off A Cliff…

While we may look at our own behavior to determine our beliefs, we also look at the behaviors of others to figure out how to behave. Since Donkeyism is in its infantile stage, social proof must be manufactured.
Advertisers got it right; a very convincing form of social proof is to hire actors to perform an “unrehearsed” endorsement of a product. People identify with famous actors, musicians, and artists even if there really isn’t a real relationship present. If sufficient funds are available, hire these people to give “impromptu” interviews about Donkeyism. If funds aren’t available, interview the average citizen who gave Donkeyism a favorable review in the questionnaire.
It is also interesting to note that we commonly associate ourselves with victory and distance ourselves from loss. If a sports team is victorious, a fan will commonly say “We are number one!” in an attempt to associate themselves with victory. If the favorite sports team is defeated, the common response is, “they blew it!” If Donkeyism is associated with victorious teams, then Donkeyism becomes part of “we” and not “them”. Considering the affects of social competition, the con-artist will need as many “we’s” and “us’s” as they can get. “Them” or “Those” are automatically the losers. Can you think of any other religion that sides primarily with the victors and distances itself from the defeated in a given situation? Prime examples would include: “We are gaining new converts everyday” as a victorious statement and “They weren’t real Christians” or “They didn’t believe in our god enough” as distance from defeat. As a species, we like to be associated with success, even if it’s not our own.
As another illustration of social proof, ALWAYS have lines waiting to get into your religious buildings. Have at least a group of three people waiting to get into a temple, even if the temple can house more people. The line of people provides social proof that others should get in line and wait. Because of the commitment principle, the majority will disregard the reality that the temple isn’t at capacity.
Salt your donation baskets with larger denominations. Often, we don’t know how much donation is appropriate until we receive evidence about the proper donation amount. Your parishioners, or “actors”, should salt the basket with bills. Once this is done, everyone will know, through social evidence, that bills are an acceptable donation.

Liking: I Like You, Therefore YES!

While selling an inferior product, such as religion, it is advantageous to have people like you. Normally, if you’re well liked, it’s hard to say no to you. On average, we’re of mediocre disposition and beauty. While there is hardly anything that can be done with aesthetics, much can be done to manipulate one’s feelings towards you. Proper grooming and attire will aid the con-artist on their quest for money. In fact, providing a name tag (as the Mormons do) will provide comfort towards those who are unfamiliar with Donkeyism. Nametags and friendly faces provide familiarity, and everyone is comfortable with familiarity.
At one point in time, MCI applied a marketing trick dubbed, “MCI’s Calling Circle”. Anyone in the MCI calling circle would save 20 percent on their long distance fees. The only downside was that all the members in the calling circle had to be part of the MCI network. A person would give MCI a list of 6 friends which to include in their calling circle. 9 out of 10 times, a prospect didn’t want to deprive their friend of a 20% discount and also connected denial of the MCI friend circle as a denial of friendship. 90% of respondents accepted MCI long distance service even though they were content with a different service.
In this manner, offer discounts for goods and services to members that bring their friends to Donkeyist activities. It’s difficult for a friend to tell a member no when the member’s friend is incurring no loss by saying yes. While the new prospect is in attendance of Donkeyist activities, make sure to maximize the pleasantness of the visit so the prospect will associate warm emotions with the exposure to Donkeyism. Don’t forget to pass out the salted collection basket.

Authority: My God!

While the ultimate authority in the religion of Donkeyism is Bobo, during the initial stages of religious formation, a tangible figure is needed to be seen as the leader. This figure should be well groomed and always dressed in a suit. An official sounding title is needed as well. Titles such as “Proctor”, “Chairman”, “President” or “Pope” should suffice.
According to the Milgram experiment (Milgram, 1963), we tend to defer our rationality to authority figures when involved in unfamiliar situations. If a member is confused either about social setting or about the Bible of the Donkey (which was hopefully written in a very irrational manner), the authority figure will be able to have at least 60% of subjects do whatever is asked.
All doctrine must be disjointed with reality. A famous example of this is the Christian Bible. There are literally thousands of interpretations for this single book and the source of rational interpretation does not come from the reader, it comes from an authority figure. Just like any cult or religion, only a few of Bobo’s representatives will have the correct interpretation of doctrine and they should pass this information out in unfamiliar settings, maximizing control and compliance.

Scarcity: There’s Only One Left And It’s Mine!

Scarcity involves the deprivation of materials and information. If information is exclusive, then the information is seen as valuable, regardless of the actual content. The same logic applies to goods and services, and it’s evident with the abundance of limited time offers.
To take advantage of humanity’s affinity for the rare, exclusive, and the scarce, place a tourist trap in the local area and double the price of all goods. Doubling the price of goods takes advantage of the “expensive equals good” mentality (a form of social proof). Also place signs that prove scarcity: “one time good offer” “offer expires at 1 pm” “blowout sale ends tomorrow” and “limited stock”. Whenever a customer is considering an item, have a couple faithful servants appear as though they are considering the same item. Scarcity plus competition equals an almost guaranteed sale all the time.
If you have a sect in a country with strict censorship laws, write doctrine that will be banned. This attains a double-whammy: (1) when information is censored, it is seen as scarce, therefore valuable, and (2) government is now seen as a barricade between the individual and a religious faith. Since the barricade is interpersonal and not physical, it will affect both males and females (S.S. Brehm & Weintraub, 1977, 1981).
The exclusivity of information is also seen as valuable. Limited access to buildings and documents to only members will draw the outside world in. The limited access also applies a feeling of exclusiveness with your followers, enhancing their belief in you and/or the deity of your choice.

The End is Near!!

So much new information is being created today that it’s impossible for a single person to analyze all the information that they encounter. Due to the sophistication of social connections and the complexity of modern information, we are on autopilot. Most individuals have developed psychological shortcuts to deal with the complexities of modern life. Most of the time, these psychological shortcuts work; however, when information is manufactured, we become moths flying into the flame of a candle. Most of the time we don’t realize when our autopilot is engaged, and when we do, we grossly underestimate how much our psychological shortcuts affect us.
Much of the previous examples given are already employed in various cults and even in respected religious institutions. The counter-intuitive examples that involve thought-reformation, were borrowed from the methods used in Chinese POW camps during the Korean war. It is estimated that 90% of American POW’s collaborated with the enemy because of the Chinese thought-reformation techniques and as much as 60% of POW ‘s developed Communist sympathies. Chinese thought-reformation techniques have lead to the modern psychological study of cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance occurs when there is a discrepancy between what a person believes and persuasive information. The discrepancy causes psychological discomfort, and the mind adjusts to reduce the discrepancy. Cognitive dissonance is the current explanation for cult growth and the destruction and replacement of moral values.
While it’s no guarantee, if one were to employ the methods above, they might be able to grow a cult following of 200 in one month with little expenditure of resources. Through constant proselytizing and mind control techniques, this person may be able to build a cult that rivals the stature of Christianity.