Are we worshiping iPhones, iPads and other Apple products?

Steve Job's signature black turtleneck may looks like a clerical collar to some.

Research highlighted in a new BBC documentary says devotees of "superbrands" like Apple have religious-like neurological reactions associated with their favorite brands and products.

The Bishop of Buckingham noted in the documentary how Apple stores even have similarities with chapels, or religious buildings.

"He mentioned that Steve Jobs' product launches can somewhat be compared to religious sermons, and while church-goers look forward to the second coming, he jokingly said the second coming was in 1997 when Steve Jobs came back," said a blog post at blogtechnical.com.

The documentary's host, Alex Riley, convinced the editor of the World of Apple website, Alex Brooks, to have an MRI. While being scanned, Brooks was shown Apple products and his brain had similar reactions to the products as religious people do to religious symbols related to their faith, says a a post at TG Daily.

So, "Is it all a load of hot air?" asks a Knowyourmobile.com post. "Probably not, but the findings do seem pretty obvious. We're sure if you played music to Mozart his brain would react in the same way as someone of deep Christian faith would when shown the Messiah," it continued.

Talk of Apple as a religion is not new. In 2010, gigaom.com posted an article asking, "Is Apple a Cult, Religion or a Brand?" and long before him Umberto Eco compared the Mac vs. Microsoft debate to "The Holy War."

In short, "next time Grandma asks why you're going to the mall on Sunday morning instead of church, tell her you're going to Apple Chapel," said CNN's Mark Millian.

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