SPIRITUAL GREETINGS Demand grows for religious yule cards

Interest in spirituality has grown even though church attendance has dropped.
By MELISSA RAYWORTH
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Religious greeting cards are new best-sellers. Hallmark and American Greetings, the nation's two biggest card makers, say sales of religious, especially Christian, cards began picking up at the end of the last millennium and spiked more sharply after Sept. 11, 2001.
"Religion is part of that searching for security," suggests Tina Benavides, creative vice president for American Greetings, who attributes her company's increased sales of religious cards directly to terrorism and the war in Iraq.
Others point to religion's growing profile in popular culture and politics.
"Once upon a time you could casually send a religious greeting card and it didn't make a statement one way or the other. These things didn't send any red lights up," says Robert Thompson, a Syracuse University professor who studies popular culture. "For any number of reasons, pop culture was more secularized in that period. Then all of a sudden ... that changes around about the turn of the century."
Statistics
One-quarter of all American Greetings cards sold last year were considered spiritual or religious, and the company has increased its offerings of such cards by 20 percent over the past three years.
Even as church attendance has declined in the United States, interest in spirituality has remained steady or grown, with religion-themed books on best-seller lists and faith-based films leading at the box office. Faith-oriented retail items like cards, novels and children's games that once sold only in niche stores can be found on the shelves of major department stores.
Hallmark spokeswoman Deidre Parkes cited an increase, especially since Sept. 11, in sales of "overtly religious" cards -- those that offer a Bible verse or nativity scene on their cover.
Along with those traditional religious cards, many consumers are seeking out more modern alternatives, such as "inspirational" cards, which Benavides says "help someone lean toward their religious roots."
These "multicultural, multifaith-type cards" focus on topics such as peace and brotherhood, but they aren't aligned with a particular religion. One offers the phrase "Believe in the magic" printed alongside a sprig of holly. Inside, the message reads, "Wishing you a joyous holiday season."
The cards' appeal may be that they are spiritual enough to tap into the need for a connection to something higher, without buyers having to worry about offending acquaintances or co-workers who don't share their religious beliefs.
Did it cause the change?
Thompson said the Sept. 11 attacks may have contributed to the growing turn toward religion in the popular culture.
"On the other hand, one could make the argument that Sept. 11 has made us more sensitive to the potential dicey part of aggressive religion," Thompson said.
Many religious cards offered this year carry messages that are clearly Christian, but might not use the words "God" or "Jesus." Hallmark, for example, has one emblazoned with a cluster of pine cones and the words "A Christmas Wish" on the cover. Inside it says, "May Christmas inspire each of us to give a little of what we have, to share a little of who we are, to help make this the kind of world that it was meant to be."
Companies like American Greetings have also added "contemporary Christian" cards geared toward young people, hoping modern designs will attract the same 18- to 34-year-olds who spend millions each year on CDs by contemporary Christian rock groups.
One other type of greeting has been a direct result of Sept. 11 and perhaps the Iraq war: the patriotic holiday card, a hybrid of Christmas and the Fourth of July.
One Hallmark card depicts a snow-covered upper-middle-class home with a wreath on the door and an American flag flying. Inside, the inscription reads: "As we celebrate this season, let us also be aware of the gifts our country gives us and the freedoms that we share."