[freepertoo]

The Landru society, I think was ST’s version of Christianity. “The body” was the clue for me. I love TOS, but I think this one is glaringly obvious. Roddenberry was no Christian.

[SoCal Pubbie]

That likely was the intent, but I see Landru more like Mao than Jesus, the hooded minions more like Red Guards that church deacons, and the Body more like The Dictatorship of the Proletariat than a congregation.

[ETL]

The Landru society, I think was ST’s version of Christianity. “The body” was the clue for me. I love TOS, but I think this one is glaringly obvious. Roddenberry was no Christian.

It was obvious to me that they were a Satanist-like group. Devil and witch films were pretty popular in the 60s. And that is precisely how they dressed in the films, robes with hoods.

[SoCal Pubbie]

After more thought, Landru looked more like Lenin, with the computer generated hologram standing in for Vlad's waxy corpse on public display. That makes the minions more like the KGB.

[Charles Martel]

The Landru society, I think was ST’s version of Christianity. “The body” was the clue for me. I love TOS, but I think this one is glaringly obvious. Roddenberry was no Christian.

That's a bit of an oversimplification. Return of the Archons had more of a "cult" vibe than a Christian one. Don't forget, vestiges of a Christian wedding ceremony are seen at the opening of Balance of Terror (in the ship's chapel) and Bread and Circuses closes with the realization that Christianity was spreading among the neo-Roman population.

As for Roddenberry, well, his personal behavior made it clear that he was uncomfortable sticking to the straight and narrow.