As we head into a recession (or worse) a lot of religious charlatans will be out preying upon people who are hitting bottom—and bamboozling them with thought magic, simplistic reasoning, and threats of hell.
This scene (from the movie Poltergeist) has long been a creepy-film favorite of mine, and seems to match our era of economic uncertainty, religious fundamentalism, and slick and professional public relations generated propaganda:
Prometheus Unbound 