Is Coca-Cola a religion? Um... What??
How could this lovable, fizzy soft drink -
the perennial beverage at parties and Warren Buffet share holders' meetings be the basis of a global religion?
This is precisely what Mark Pendergrast quips in his bestselling book: "For God, Country, and Coca-Cola":
"Coke has achieved the status of a substitute modern religion…"
And as weird as this may sound, and as difficult religion is to define, his argument almost makes sense.
Coca-Cola might actually be a religion.
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To prove Coca-Cola is a religion, let’s turn to one of the more popular definitions of religion from the anthropologist Clifford Geertz.
Religion is: "A system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in [humans]
by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions which such an
aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.”
Coca-Cola, as a global brand, fits this definition.
Consider how Coca-Cola provides symbols that establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods.
When Geertz says symbols, he means more than just images. Sure, it includes imagery like the color red, a swooping iconic font.
But "symbol" can denote anything that conveys meaning
like objects such as a pleasingly round aluminum can
or actions, like the self-assured tilting of your arm and head as you shepherd the drink into your mouth.
These symbols convey meanings and values that help establish these powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods.
Happiness. Contentedness. Belonging. Safety. Familiarity.
Pendergrast writes that Coke, as a modern religion, "promotes a particular, satisfying, all-inclusive world view
espousing perennial values such as love, peace, and universal brotherhood."
And we see almost all of this in their advertisements. The all-inclusive worldview?
Check out Coca-Cola's famous commercial from 1971.
Or its 2017 Super Bowl Commercial,
a subtle commentary of living in a pluralistic society coming on
the heels of a contentious Presidential election.
Love and brotherhood? Well, check out their viral commercial showing the bond between two brothers,
brought together by Coke.
It's a universal panacea to viscerally painful experiences like a break-up with a romantic partner.
Coca-Cola's main appeal is not sexual satisfaction, it's deeper than that.
Community. Belonging. Much how religions today often foster communal identities.
But it goes even further than this.
The Religious Studies scholar, David Chidester, builds on Pendergrast's theory. Coca-Cola is not just a conceptual religion on paper,
but actual people involved with Coca-Cola have characterized their experience with it as religious.
Asa Candler, the founder of Coca-Cola, is said as have had an “almost mystical faith” for the drink.
The president of the company in 1923, Robert Woodruff, is described as having “a devotion to Coca-Cola which approached idolatry.”
And former CEO Roberto Goizueta is on record saying, “Working for the Coca-Cola Company is a calling. It’s not a way to make a living. It’s a religion.”
And they pushed this religion around the globe like missionaries, reaching every corner of the earth.
This became the butt end of a joke of the movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy,"
where an indigenous tribe in Africa mistake a Coke bottle as a message from the gods.
According to Dr. Chidester, in this movie "we find Coke as a sacred sign,
a sign subject to local misreading
but nevertheless of a global religion.”
This sounds absurd, but how do we refute it?
If religion is: “A system of symbols which acts to establish powerful moods.."
If it's "a system that clothes conceptions of the world with an aura of factuality...”
It makes sense, right? It sounds so fancy. So convincing.
And Clifford Geertz is just so dang smart.
But Coca-Cola fits this definition, too. If it's not a religion, does it make Geertz wrong?
Well, Not necessarily. No definition of religion is perfect. And to quote Dr. J. Z. Smith,
"It's not that religion can't be defined, but that it can be defined with greater or lesser success more than 50 ways."
Coca-Cola may not be a religion, but aspects of it are certainly religious.
And it goes to show certain religious motivations and practices can be embedded in any aspect of culture,
even in the soft drink industry.
As always, thanks for watching.
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