Yeah, it's much more complex than I let on in my previous comment. You're absolutely right about it being hard to isolate causal factors, and right as well that

Yeah, it's much more complex than I let on in my previous comment. You're absolutely right about it being hard to isolate causal factors, and right as well that the "powerful, popular people get read more" phenomenon is stronger than "authors accumulate power" phenomenon. I still do think that the "pen" is a lot more powerful than people tend to give it credit for, just that its influence tends to operate over a long timeframe. I suppose in today's context, the "pen" = your ability to engage with people. In this sense, Donald Trump is wielding his "pen" terrifyingly well. You're totally right as well, of course, that popular religious texts will be more popular and more powerful than any politician's. These texts are woven into people's lives much more intimately. Your last sentiment is interesting, though. I generally feel that while the various prophets' work (as interpreted and re-interpreted by others, mostly) is incredibly popular, their "influence" is sorta... corrupted? Exploited? I"m reminded of a quote often attributed to Gandhi: "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." Not sure if he actually said that, but you get the idea. (Applies to practically all major organized religions, I don't mean to single out Christianity.)