I seem to recall reading something years ago that there was a religion somewhere (far East perhaps) that has some kind of ceremony where Pepsi is used. Only Pepsi can be used, Coke was forbidden. (I might have it reversed, maybe Coke was used and Pepsi was forbidden)
I realize that’s pretty vague, but I’d say more if I could remember more.
Anybody else hear this? What religion in what country is this?
While I don’t specifically know about any religion as such, I do know that, at least at certain times, Coke or Pepsi has fallen out of favor in certain regions. IIRC, it mainly had to do with the conflict between the Arabs and the Israelis; if Coke was selling to the Israelis, the Palestinians (or whomever) would boycott, and I don’t mean your typical college-activist boycott; NOBODY bought it. Pepsi/Coke would lose a major market, so it came down to selling to as many countries as possible without pissing any of them off.
Come to think of it, I bet I read that in the Straight Dope. Dammit.
Well, when I lead a circle about three years ago, we used purple koolaid and pecan sandies for the sacrement. But that’s just because they were handy.
I haven’t heard of any religion that specifically requires one soft drink over another.
I think its all ludicrous. It matters not if you drink Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Barq’s Root Beer, Jolt, Mountain Dew (non-Canadian): we all worship the same molecule – caffeine!
You must unlearn what you have learned. – Yoda
I drink Mountain Dew religiously. Does that count for anything?
“It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” - Adam Smith
Does anyone know what RC stands for? Most would have you beleive that it stands for Royal Crown, but it actually means Recycled Coke. 
You can use any soft drink, but the text on the label has to be in Arabic.
Yer pal,
Satan
http://www.raleighmusic.com/board/Images/devil.gif
I HAVE BEEN SMOKE-FREE FOR:
One week, two days, 12 hours, 55 minutes and 12 seconds.
381 cigarettes not smoked, saving $47.69.
Life saved: 1 day, 7 hours, 45 minutes.
A word to the wise; when Great Cthulhu asks for a Pepsi to wash down his Fritos, you’d better not try to slip him a Coke.
Pepsi-Cola is an anagram of Episcopal - does that help?
I’ve been sitting here playing with my Google, and I found two possibilities:
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This was at http://www.tribuneindia.com/99apr14/punjab.htm#6 and seems to have more to do with marketing than with actual religious ceremonies.
Then there’s this. http://www.clevelandartists.net/truestories/religion.htm
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Here’s their website, but it looks like they have only a 7-day archive. Bummer! http://www.globeandmail.com/
I’m sorry but I’m not interested enough to rummage my way through Google’s 10,000 hits on the words “San Juan Chamula”. From the looks of it, though, that’s the one that Revtim is thinking of.
“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!” - the White Queen
There was a story a while back (I swear that I read it in the News of the Weird, but I can’t find it using their search engine) that Pepsi Cola was marketing it’s product in some part of Central America as being the preferred cola for cures. Pepsi had more bubbles, which made it more magical. I may have confused a few details, but believe me, I’m not making this one up!
Of course, there always is Waponi Woo, where Orange Jump soda is the sacred drink (isn’t it?)
Hey Notthemama, I think you nailed it with the San Juan Chamula story. Thanks!
Here’s an article that mentions the residents of San Juan Chamula using Pepsi in their religion: http://www.best.com/~advo/freeman/920504.html
In Dream Park by Larry Niven, a (fictonal) New Guiea tribe refers to “That sacred liquid which you Europeans know as ko-ka-ko-la”. Dunno how much basis Niven had for it.
“There are only two things that are infinite: The Universe, and human stupidity-- and I’m not sure about the Universe”
–A. Einstein
Not to inflame anyone - my childhood recollections may be completely off, but I remember the Mormon family across the street never let their kids have caffeinated soft drinks - then all of a sudden they were drinking Pepsi (not all the time, but not refusing it as expected). I later heard that the Mormon church had purchased the Pepsi-Cola Company (or it’s parent?)
Does anyone have any information to dispel or confirm this recollection before it becomes a rumor?
Our friends at Snopes on Mormons, soft drink company ownership and urban legends . It’s a myth.
[Note: This message has been edited by manhattan]
Chronos, you’re thinking the same thing I am, except the novel was Niven’s The Barsoom Project, not Dream Park. The idea was that around WWII times, fighter craft and bombers were shot down over the islands, and the natives considered it to be gifts from the gods above when they found the cargo on board. Cargo cults, they were called, I believe.
http://www.channel1.com/mpr/Articles/63-frum.html has some interesting bits on cargo cults in the South Pacific:
http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/cargocul.htm also has this to say, in way of example of “cargo cult science” which is somewhat relevant, though not really tracable:
“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”
No, Dream Park, like I said… The Barsoom Project is the sequel… I haven’t read it yet, so I’m not sure how much it refers to the same setting. Thanks for the quotes, I had gotten it from the library, and returned it months ago.
“There are only two things that are infinite: The Universe, and human stupidity-- and I’m not sure about the Universe”
–A. Einstein
Ah. The Mormon Soda cartel is a fabrication. Which brings up a particularly nefarious mechanism: the self-perpetuating urban legend. The fact is that my neighbors DID make a switch from a church-recommended caffeine free lifestyle to Generation:next. I wonder if they didn’t fall pray to an obnoxious urban legend about their own church? That seems unlikely given the very efficient centralization of the LDS church - but even if coincidence, it lent credence to an otherwise spurious conjecture.
You’re 100% correct. DP was with the cargo cult and the all that. BP was in the arctic. Ok, I’ll take my foot out of my mouth and be content that you liked my links.
“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”