Selling souls

It would be a fallacy to think of the church as anything more than a business like any other capitalistic venture.

in it they have shareholders such as the ones who give their offering on a weekly basis

in it they have employees such as the pastors, secretariat, and accountant

in it they have merchandise and commodities such as books, cd's, tapes, paraphernalia, even whole camps and retreats

in it they have their own CEO's such as their deacon board

The only difference is that the owners of these religious bourgeoisie ventures understand that they have a commodity - a religious belief - that operates within an inelastic demand that restricts the number of choices and alternatives for the consumer. In result, the consumers/shareholders of these institutions have a limited amount of choice from one religion to the next - for example, once one is ingrained into a religion, one will maintain that belief system no matter the cost or at the very least, maintain a very high degree of tolerance in respects to their loyalty to that belief system. Contrast that to the elastic demand of orange juice in which alternatives for beverages are plentiful and easily accessible.

Like any other corporation, the faceless detachment between the ones who have the power and the ones who don't - its consumers - is thus maintained by serving the unseeable; the Holy Spirit, the risen Ghost, the invisible God.