Newswise — Some people take their religion very seriously. And that's why the growing world market for religious games and dolls makes for such an interesting study, says Nikki Bado, an associate professor and director of religious studies at Iowa State University.
She teamed up with Rebecca Sachs Norris, an associate professor and chair of religious and theological studies at Merrimack College, to author the book "Toying with God: The World of Religious Games and Dolls," (Baylor University Press), which was published earlier this year.
Bado says the proliferation of religious merchandise aimed at a wide consumer audience -- including both educational and "fun-based" games and toys for children -- is one reason this year's International Christian Retail Show 2010, being held June 27-30 at America's Center in St. Louis, Mo., will be so massive. According to the show's website (http://www.christianretailshow.com/), the event annually features more than 2,400 of the world's most important Christian retail professionals -- including international buyers from more than 50 countries who reflect "the accelerating globalization of Christian products."
Bado suspects there will be plenty of religious products aimed at children on display at the show, particularly since they've already found their way into some of the country's most prominent department stores.
"You probably won't find Sampson and David, or talking Jesus dolls in the Sears catalog, but you will find them in Walmart -- and sometimes in Target," she said. "And that was the big news when the Jesus toys started to get out into the regular mainstream market. That started about two years ago and had international media -- like the BBC -- asking, 'What's happening to American retail that they're selling Christian dolls?'"
Bado and Norris document in their book just how many religious games and dolls are out there and speculate about what that says about society.
"One of the things the popularity of religious games and dolls says is that a growing number of families are now integrating religious beliefs and education into their children's play," Bado said.
One maker of such games is Left Behind Games Inc. (http://www.leftbehindgames.com/), which will exhibit at the International Christian Retail Show. Two of the company's video games for teens and adults -- Left Behind: Tribulation Forces® and Left Behind: Eternal Forces® -- allow players to battle the forces of evil in physical and spiritual warfare. The games are based on the best-selling Left Behind book series, created by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.
"We talk about the Left Behind video games a little bit in our book," Bado said. "The Left Behind paperbacks were a pretty popular series, but they spun off a video game where as a part of God's chosen army, you get to waste anybody who's left behind -- obviously because they're 'left behind.' But if you succeed in converting them before you shoot them, they turn into badly-dressed white men. This actually got so much flack from around the world that the makers of the game backed away from it a bit."
One doll that you probably won't see in St. Louis is Fulla®, an 11 1/2-inch Barbie-like fashion doll marketed to children of Islamic and Middle-Eastern countries as an alternative to Barbie™. And yet Bado says Fulla® isn't as different from Barbie™ as some people believe.
"They are the same size, made of the same plastics, have similar accessories and stand on the same tippy toe feet. The only measurable difference between Fulla and Barbie is the size of Fulla's more modest apparel and figure," she said.
The creators who built Fulla® that way have recently changed her story to better serve their business interests, too, Bado says.
"She was created by a Syrian designer, NewBoy, but Syria's on the U.S. 'Do Not Fly' list, making it a country we don't do business with," Bado said. "So Fulla's history has been re-made. She's now allegedly from Dubai and is starting to be sold at the same toy outlets in the U.S."
Why would someone go to those lengths for a children's doll? Bado says it's because the religious dolls are a big deal internationally.
"Religious police have removed Barbies from toy shelves in Saudi Arabia," she said. "Governments have tried to create anti-Barbie dolls. Iran actually created its own line of dolls, Sara and Dara, that were not as popular as Barbie™. One Iranian toyseller stated that every Barbie doll is more harmful than an American missile. There's this idea that little girls are being sexualized too young because of Barbie™."
Bado sees dolls to be among the host of religious toys that retailers will continue to push in the near future.
"I think you will see a continuing flow of what I would call harmless, fun things -- like plush, huggable Jesus, or Buddhas," Bado said. "You'll see a constant stream of those, and you'll see toy figurines and action figures where David fights Goliath, etc."
And you're likely to see those products later this month when Christian retailers converge on St. Louis.
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