Cultural conditioning or cultural hypnosis?

Interesting idea. The only argument I have against it is that religion has been a constant feature of human culture for over 4,000 years, long before m media became a vessel for such messages. The human need to attach to a deity or belief system that explains who we are, why we are here and where we are going, the mysteries of life and death and the soul, comes from somewhere deeper than subliminal advertising. Perhaps the place religion holds in the popular consciousness is reinforced by the signs you mention. But throughout history there is demonstrated a human trait of m adherence to belief systems, be they religious (ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, Christianity, Islam), political (Fascism, Communism, Socialism) or philosophical. We use these systems as codes or frames on which to hang our daily lives, our hopes and aspirations, or ethics and morals, and the way we view our existence. I feel I can live without such crutches, but then many people, perhaps even most people, don't see it as a crutch at all. And I reckon they would persist in that belief no matter what imagery they are exposed to day-to-day.