Nikita Arora's Blog

I was more than taken aback when I came across this post on Brandchannel (Active Faith: Pro Athletes bring Christian Apparel to the masses).  There has certainly been the tradition of athletes praying before/after games, and although the article points out this for Christian athletes, it is true for all religions.

However, the more interesting fact is that two pro basketball players (Minnesota Timberwolves forward Anthony Tolliver and former NBA D-Leaguer Lanny Smith) were so influenced by this that they decided to form a company solely dedicated to producing apparel and accessories with Christian messages called Active Faith. As stated on their website, their vision is “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). The entire idea is to promote the brand based on the religion (which includes only Christianity so far). And so far, they have been more than successful in attracting attention and customers because of brand advocates like Jeremy Lin, Stephen Curry, and Micah Owings to name a few. For example-when Jeremy Lin went on the seven-game winning streak earlier this season, and images flashed him sporting an Active Faith wristband (which says ‘In Jesus’ name I play’), the number of visitors on the Active Faith website grew so big that the website crashed thrice before the company could bring it under control.

Although the company has drawn huge crowd already without actually indulging in any intensive marketing (apart from the celebrity athletes endorsing those bands or tees, and attracting more customers, making it more like a cult following for Christianity) however, there are some key problems that are just around the corner.

Firstly, the company is based on the premises of Christianity. Even though it is the major religion followed in North America, still it goes against the principals of secularism and ‘all religions are equal’ ideology, and thus is destined to attract fanatics in the near future. It is because that by making bands that just say “In jesus’ name I play, somewhere it’s being assumed that Jesus is above Allah, God or some other deity. And this might be the reason that they are not actively engaging in advertising their products, because think about it… if there’s a TV commercial going like “Get good grades in school by wearing this band and praying to Jesus cos he is the best”, it wouldn’t be surprising to find outrageous mob of people on the streets with only one mission- to kill anybody who supports the commercial/company.

Secondly, there is no scope for growth in other countries where Christianity is not the most widely practiced religion. And since their website and all the products are so centered around Christianity, there seems no justification in modifying it to accommodate other religions.

Lastly, while faith has the power to transform people into staunch loyalists (in a positive way, although it’d be an extreme case positivity), it also has the power to destroy (extreme case negativity).

And although the idea sounds compelling to hear about, yet it’s not compelling enough to make me want to go buy that wristband because I’m a hindu by religion and no matter how secular I may be, the constant praise for Christianity just pisses me off. And anyways, I’d look like an idiot going to the temple wearing a band that says “In Jesus’ name I play”. The priest would probably kick me out!

However, if you’re interested in trying some cool Christianity stuff, check these links out: https://myactivefaith.com/ , http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2012/03/30/Active-Faith-033012.aspx )