I propose to analyze Christian Memes, a Facebook page
dedicated to “providing Christians and non-Christians alike with memes that
contain no crude humor and are centered around learning and living by the words
found in the Bible,” (https://www.facebook.com/MemesForJesus/info). According to the site’s information page,
Michael Schaffer of Macon Georgia started the site in 2012. His goal is to
provide an alternative to the “profanity and vulgarity” that is rampant on
other meme sites and the internet at large. While the site does allow others to
submit memes to the Facebook page, Schaffer says he reserves the right to refuse
any posts that use foul language, rude comments, and/or arguing, as well as the
right to revoke user’s posting privileges. In addition to the Facebook page,
Christian Memes has content sites under the name “Memes for Jesus” on Tumblr,
Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.
During this
case study, I propose to focus on the way Christian users combine pop culture
images and references with religious ones. Analyzing what cultural artifacts
Christians choose to relay some insight – humorous or otherwise – about
themselves and their faith gives researchers insight into how they make sense
of religion in their contemporary lives. While this may have taken place in the
past in various forms, internet memes are uniquely situated to create and
recreate religious meaning and knowledge through what Jenkins (2006) calls
participatory culture.
I will
collect all of the memes posted between September 9-16 on the Christian Memes
Facebook page as well as the posted comments. The actual memes can be
downloaded directly from the Facebook page. The comments will be collected by
copying and pasting them into a word document. I will then create a word
document with both the meme and the comments for analysis. During the data
collection phase, I will act as a participant observer on the Christian Memes Facebook
page by visiting the site daily and asking questions about certain memes if I
need clarification of the meaning or context. After the collection phase, I will analyze the
sample for cultural and religious meanings, if and how the sample represents a
form of participatory culture, how the memes fit into or differ from Shifman’s
(2011) humor categories, how the memes may have conflicting or alternative
messages or readings, and the memes’ communication effectiveness.
A few
examples of memes from this site are listed below:
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