CELEBRITY WORSHIP

[JAMMY]

• g03 1/8 pp. 28-29
• Watching the World

http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102003011?q=celebrities&p=par

Quote

Celebrity Worship”

“New psychological research suggests that worship of celebrities by the public has begun to take the place of religion in many people’s lives,” says psychiatrist Dr. Raj Persaud. Writing in The Sunday Times of London, Persaud states that the weaker a person’s religious convictions, the more likely he is to “worship” celebrities. This form of worship is demonstrated by those who are willing to pay high prices to collect items owned or touched by celebrities. Additionally, Persaud says, “celebrity worshipers” will pattern their values and life-style on those of their favorite idol, who is often perceived as incapable of wrongdoing and as “operating under a different set of rules which cannot be understood by ordinary mortals and for which allowances must be made.” The impact that celebrities have on others is also evident in the results of product endorsements and in the mimicking of crucial health-care decisions, notes Dr. Persaud. He adds: “This suggests that our worship of celebrities does indeed turn them into the most powerful people on the planet—the equivalent of gods in our midst.”