Religious Identity Representations in Hindusim

      Throughout my research of the Hindu faith, common images and symbols are continuously shown to mark the Hindu religion. The minute you type in "Hindu memes" the same images continue to be shown that I have mentioned in some of my previous blog posts. Images of cows, images of various God's with messages relating to reincarnation, images of Bindis, and images of a holiday called Diwali, a festival of lights, are continuously presented as key markers of Hinduism. 

      I believe that these memes use these images and symbols in order to educate viewers in a fun and entertaining way and to show viewers what values are most important to this specific religious group. For instance, when I started researching Hindu memes, I hadn't known of the Hindu belief in reincarnation. So, when I started looking at these memes and saw that this was a common theme, I realized it must be a very important and valued belief to the Hindu faith. Also, since the memes were extremely comical, I continued to google various versions of the "reincarnation" Hindu memes and winded up doing actual research on Hindu reincarnation beliefs after these memes caught my attention. I think this was the intent of the creators of these memes, to spark the interest of viewers through humor which would hopefully lead to greater research and a better understanding of the Hindu faith. I also think that the creators of the memes might have used stereotypes, such as the Bindi, to grab the viewers attention by using a portrayal they were familiar with, to lure them in and to educate them on other important values and beliefs of Hindus. The messages being communicated by the way these memes are presented are the most valued traditions and beliefs of Hinduism, including reincarnation, praising all things that provide for humans such as cows, and holidays that are sacred to the Hindu faith such as Diwali. By familiarizing the public with these memes, maybe people of others faiths will be accepting and more understanding of the Hindu faith's beliefs and traditions.  

      As we learned in class, "Online identity is established or concealed by info presented" (Identity Online Lecture). So, what religious groups put out into the world, or online, shapes their Hindu identity in the minds of its viewers. This is exactly how members of the Hindu faith are using media to promote their religion and educate people about the reality of the Hindu faith. According to Memes in Digital Culture, Dawkins describes memes as "a unit of cultural transmission" (Shifman). The examples he gave of religious memes included memes related to religious beliefs about God and practices. Creators of Hindu memes seem to use memes relating to similar topics to do just that. They transmit their culture and understanding of their religious identity through memes to its viewers. According to our lectures this week, utilizing media can help one work on their religious identity and personal expressions of religion in a space outside of their home, religious group, away from parents, and even anonymously. Transmitting culture doesn't just have to be to people that aren't Hindu. These memes can be a funny and enjoyable way for people of the Hindu faith to see their religion in the media and can maybe relate to the comical memes and other people's experiences expressed through those memes and gain a better understanding of their own religious identity. 

1. 

2. 

2. 

Works Cited:

SHIFMAN, L. (2014). Memes in Digital Culture. MIT Press. 

Pitcures Works Cited:

1. https://www.someecards.com/memes/diwali/

2.https://memegenerator.net/img/instances/500x/39034902/you-only-live-once-false-the-hindu-culture-believe-in-reincarnation.jpg