Religious Communication in Digital Culture: A Study on Islamic Memes on Reddit

Abstract

Internet memes, a form of expression that has come along with digital culture, define content that is usually spread through social media platforms and often contains humour. Memes, which online communities use to express their opinions, thoughts, positive or negative approaches, are a unique communication method of internet culture. Memes, especially those containing humor, spread to large masses in a short time and can explain complex issues with a single image. Internet memes offer religious communities a new tool to express their personal and social views on social media. This study analyses memes on religious channels on the Reddit platform. The study examines 166 memes shared in selected communities between 1 January and 15 April 2024 through content analysis and discusses how memes are designed in relation to which topics and how they shape their discourse and religious communication. The findings of the study show that religious memes on social media focus on perspectives, politics, cultural differences, and the transmission of religious knowledge. The study also discusses how memes contribute to the formation of online religious communities. According to this, people’s similar religious experiences are effective in creating a bond between them that transcends distances. The fact that the language of religion has started to include more humor is also among the findings of the study.

Keywords

• digital culture
• internet culture
• religious communication
• memes
• dijital kültür
• i̇nternet kültürü
• dini iletişim
• memler