While many people call Apple a cult, it may be going a little too far to call it a religion. I mean, it’s not like we have a god, temples, or religious rituals of any kind. But apparently, Beliefnet blogger David Kuo begs to differ.
Kuo, who writes a blog for the religion website Beliefnet, says that Apple has become a religion — “Appleism.” He says that Apple has now gone beyond the point of a cult of some hardcore believers, but a full blown religion with millions of followers worldwide. Kuo cites several central, defining aspects of religion that he says appear in Apple, such as a deity (Steve Jobs), ritual acts (Macworld Expo), and an idea of sacred vs. profane (Apple vs. Microsoft). While the article itself is very interesting and controversial, the concept of “Appleism” got even more light when Gizmodo editor-in-chief Brian Lam responded to the article. Lam says that Apple isn’t a religion but a “faith of the most practical sort.” The Gizmodo editor says that the faith in Apple comes from the fact that its products don’t crash, not that it will allow one to achieve salvation. He also mentions that what makes Apple interesting is that it focuses on the human nature of its products (such as in the dancing silhouette iPod ads), not the sacred.
As someone who is fairly religious, I find this article and Brian Lam’s response very interesting. Like Lam, I feel that Apple is not a religion (though definitely some sort of cult). In fact, more than anything else, I think the best thing about this article and response is the dialogue between Kuo and Lam (a “blogalogue,” as Beliefnet calls it). This article is attracting Apple fans and Gizmodo readers (which Beliefnet even caters to with a collection of links on the top of the page), who are of a generally not religious demographic. The fact that secular tech geeks are visiting a religion site is possibly a sign of an odd yet productive friendship in the future.
Apple as a religion? What would make you think that?
It's definitely a religion.
@Dan, I think you meant this:
http://wpcomics.washingtonpost.com/client/wpc/wpnan/2007/06/21/
They just updated that page with totally different cartoon, haha.
Did you mean http://wpcomics.washingtonpost.com/client/wpc/wpnan/2007/06/21/ ?
Don't matter to me if Apple is a religion or a cult.
What matters to me is that image used in that post. Can I have it? :D
Equating the selection of a retail product to religious faith is just offensive. The people at BeliefNet are trolls who are trying to cash in on the iPhone mania.
Macintoshes are excellent tools. My MacBook Pro is stylish, easy to use, and it helps me get my work done. I spend about eight hours a day in front of Safari, Transmit, BBEdit, InDesign, and Acrobat. It was good value for money.
How many times must the FUD and misinformation about Apple's products be beaten back?
The iPod is not more expensive and less feature rich than the competition. One of the reasons why Apple has done so well is that they often beat their competitors on both price and features.
Oh, it doesn't have an FM receiver, built-in, people must have been brainwashed by a cult to buy that brick!
Apple products don't crash? Yeah, if you don't boot up the computer. My Mac doesn't crash often, but it will crash, mostly when I use DVD Player or iPhoto.
i have been calling the apple store "church" since 2004 :( does that make me crazy?
i even make my friends pose in front of the giant glass cube when visiting new york...
@Philippe, Paul: Thanks guys. I think I'd had the link open in my browser for a few days and didn't doublecheck before I pasted it. :)
As a devout Christian, I am offended by this. I love Apple products. They are pretty and they make me more productive. I listen to christian podcasts, music, videos and prepare sermons in my macbook pro. I create fundraisers with iWeb, and soon to come use my extensive church member phone list on my iphone to keep in touch with my brethren.... All this in style.
Apple is not a religion, it is a darn good company that makes great products.
It's not a religion or a cult. They make great products and actually work with the people who use there products to make them even better. They listen to the consumer. Other companies like Microsoft just don't get that and never will. So once you go Mac you never go back.