THURSDAY: POP RELIGION

It seems to me like Scientology and Kabbalah are two ‘religions’ both so subsidized and popularized by celebrities that they’ve become a part of our pop culture as much or more than a spiritual outlet for the masses. This week I came across both using different means to get more recruits.? Walking down Hollywood Avenue in LA, on a touristy block I equate to Times Square, I passed a Scientology Center. On the sidewalk in front of the center Scientologists were manning bridge tables and doing their best to sell Scientology and Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s book ‘Dianetics,’ to people passing on the street. Neighboring the center a winter wonderland had been set up. Over the winter wonderland was a billboard that said,? “On the day we can fully trust each other there will be peace on earth.” -L. Ron Hubbard

?Meanwhile, in the world of Kabbalah, New York socialite Denise Wohl, mother of I March to the Beat of My Own Drummer daughter Arden Wohl, who’s a friend of often indie actress LeeLee Sobieski, is trying to mass market Kabbalah through comic books called Seven - and crafting the main characters after Arden and LeeLee.?