Why didn't the Yeerks ever use religion?

[Hikaru]

So, my grandmothers a Jehovah's Witness and we go to these religious conventions every year, well a few years back at one I got to thinking. How come the Yeerks never used religion? I mean we have Jonestown and several cult examples in history of how religion can be a power used to er... 'brainwash,' people.

So why didn't the Yeerks ever use it? It would be simple, just turn some high ranking priests, ministers, or other types of religious leaders into human-controllers involuntarily, then have them hold some interfaith or large convention. Have them tell the people that if they became a voluntary human-controller they would be one step closer to god, or go to heaven, or gain enlightenment, or several other ways.

This would have completely won it for the Yeerks as half the world is religious. They would have gained voluntary controllers by the dozens.

Would it have made the series too easy or something?

Edit: Heck, just have them baptized in the yeerk pool. One dunk = insta-controller!

[Saphire]

0o Wow. What an excelent point. ... I'd never considdered that, really.

My thoughts would be that they didn't write that out because there are too many religions to accomodate, and they didn't want to step on anyone's toes.. And of course, if someone feels you're misrepresenting/making fun of their religion, you're gonna' get sued, buddy...

[wildweathel]

Isn't The Sharing effectively a religion already?  It's main attraction is to those who are emotionally/spiritually unfulfilled; it takes advantage of that feeling, and I don't see it as particularly attractive to those who already have a strong faith.

I can see Visser One wanting to start other fronts, perhaps one more like a dogmatic religion.  Maybe they simply didn't have the resources.

Or as a more mundane explanation, a more overtly religious Sharing wouldn't pass S&P.

[TobiasMasonPark]

     The Sharing is actually a lot closer to a cult.

[MoppingBear]

     The Sharing is actually a lot closer to a cult.

One man's religion is another man's cult.  (And vice versa.)

[RYTX]

First issue I think is just cuz Applegate basically keep religion out of the series

As a plot device it does have potential, though I prehaps not astronomical: I'm hoping not every person of faith blindly obeys everything a member of the clergy says-which I figure they don't seeing as how many religious people blow of the practices of their faith and "sin" in general.
Plus it seems something novel like this would cause a few people to pause. Taking a slug in the brain isn't in the bible (Was it?)

But by and large there has to be issue making anyone a control: Otherwise they could have just rounded up politicians, civil servants, or invest kids classroom by classroom.
Probably where a few religious higher ups who were controllers, enough to just grab the world? Unlikely

[MoppingBear]

There's also the fact that unlike Visser 1, Visser 3 made no effort to understand humans, it's not unlikely that he simply did not know about just how powerful religious influence is.

[Estelore]

Organized religion has flourished in human history chiefly because humans are very social entities, concerned with being part of a group, and constantly fussy about how the group perceives them.  The Sharing took advantage of the basic factors that motivate 'successfully organized' religious groups - that is, the obsession with status, popularity, group/caste/rank... - and skipped over the gory details of creating a belief system, instead just going straight to the heart of human interactions by implying that it's a vaguely bad idea to not be part of the Sharing.

In all likelihood, they could have expanded their ranks by making other branches of the Sharing in other parts of the world, with a more relgion-based focus... but for that geographic region, with so many teens in a small area, conveying to their extended families the feeling of being scrutinized... seriously, we think the only thing that would have made them MORE successful would be if they started the invasion in Boise and Utah, with the most powerful members of several Mormon churches.  You want social pressure to conform, go there; you'll be wowed.

Anyway, basically... the Yeerks could use religion, and it would have worked scarily well in parts of the world that are utterly controlled by a specific religious group... but for areas under less-specific influences, it works as well if not better to just play directly on the human urge to conform to the herd.

[Saphire]

^ Wellspoken..

I prettymuch can't add anything extra to that. XD

[Blazing Angel]

I think it would have been difficult. The reason its so hard to infest to the point where you cant just discretely slip a yeerk in a random person on the street is because it hurts to have a yeerk crawling THROUGH your ear drum. Baptisms wouldn't work because that's half a second under. The best they could do is offer the higher membership and then get them down there volunterilly

[TobiasMasonPark]

     ^ He has a point.

     But I agree that those of great faith would voluntarily turn to the Yeerks, if they were made to believe it would help them get to Heaven.

[Blazing Angel]

I dont think many people would do that (And where in revelations if this found?) Then they would be forced to do it

[TobiasMasonPark]

     Are you talking to someone else? Because I don't recall referencing Revelations.

[Blazing Angel]

Revelations talks alot about the rapture and they could say that the slug is part of ascension

[Saphire]

=/ with a loud enough voice and a large enough following of people, you can turn whatever words you wish into reality..;