Service Provider Use of Christian Religious Messages in Yellow Pages Advertising

A growing practice among local businesses in the U.S. is the inclusion of Christian religious symbols or messages in their advertising, especially yellow pages advertising. Yet little is known about the motivations behind the usage of such messages. These issues are addressed in a series of in-depth interviews with local service providers who use religious messages in their ads. Narratives of the interviews are presented, and interpretation led to the discovery of two emergent themes: "Entrepreneurial Christianity" and service providers' "Desire for Tribal Identity." Both of the themes contained three subthemes. These emergent themes and subthemes are discussed and then placed within the larger context of religion and commerce.