A nodeshell I can do something about. Serendipity!
In Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson mentions temple prostitutes as part of his narrative. To fit his plot, they served as conduits for, what amounts to, an infection of the mind, into the general populace (The general populace being quite taken with the idea of free sex.) In general though, I suppose that temple prostitutes can really boost attendance at your place of worship, not to mention engorge your...collection plate.
Funny, I was going to write that since temple prostitutes render their services for free, they are not technically prostitutes. But when you consider the collection plate stuff, it starts to look a little less innocent (if such a word could ever be applied).