U.S. Protestants more loyal to toothpaste brand than church?

Some Americans are more loyal to their toothpaste or toilet paper than to their religious denomination, making those consumers more choosy about Charmin or Colgate than they are about church, according to a new survey.

According to a Phoenix-based research firm, 16% of Protestants say they would consider only one denomination, while 22% of them would use only one brand of toothpaste and 19% would use just one brand of bathroom tissue.

Experts say the findings may be more telling about Americans' views of the plethora of Protestant groups than how they choose between Quilted Northern and, say, Cottonelle.

"When you have a whole bunch of different brands out there and not a lot of differentiation among some of them — and not a lot of knowledge about them — the denominational world is facing the same problem as many other brands," said Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, which conducted the survey. …