AHC: Cargo Cults Become Significant Religions* In The West

*Okay, this is probably ASB--so let's say "significant minor religions" to be more precise, like maybe as big as Hinduism is in the West in OTL.

Your AHC--get the Pacific Islander cargo cults of the WWII period to gain a significant foothold in the United States and/or Europe using any PoDs you wish. However you want to do it is fair game. The goal of the cargo-worship can be either to bring prosperity and goods to the Polynesian islands themselves or to people in North America/Europe.

--Bonus points if most major cities have at least one cargo cult body/congregation/house of worship.
--Mega bonus points if the cargo cults are able to attract converts who are not of Pacific Islander heritage.
--Super bonus points if a major political candidate runs for a competitive election who belongs to a cargo cult. :D


MalcontentRex
 
Depending on how you define it, a mainstream Protestant evangelical church which preaches a gospel of prosperity can be viewed as a cargo cult!
 
indeed, in some countries money is pretty much a cult in itself .
you could see the american dream as a form of cargo cult
 
Are not Walmart, Target,Costco, etc.,North American centres of worship for such cargo cults? Sale days, and promotions, could be equated with religious festivals. Black Friday especially, with it's underlying theme of blood sacrifice.
 
Full-on cargo cults wouldn't work in an industrialized nation. Nobody's going to build bamboo Walmart trucks or pray to Sam Walton when they know about money and factories. You'd need a Zardoz-like situation, with hi-tech city states surrounded by lo-tech barbarians who think firearms and canned food are supernatural artifacts.
 
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