Formulating My Research Question

This week for my analysis I decided to look at six more tweets from this past week from my three selected Christian Twitter accounts. First I am going to compare and contrast the messages represented in the three different accounts from these six examples. 

 The content of the three account's tweets have remained pretty consistent throughout my study thus far. Reverend Run continues to have uplifting tweets that are not always directly linked to Christianity or the Bible. Max Lucado remains inspirational through placing value the belief of Christ's ability for ultimately overcome your current struggle to meet your needs. Lastly, Hood Jesus continued to play on popular culture and current event references to tie in Christianity in their tweets. 

Common themes found throughout all three of the account's tweets is the idea of overall hope through Christ. All three accounts seem to portray Christ as all-knowing and the answer to any heartache one might be feeling. They all seem to be on the same page regarding Christianity and do not have any competing ideas. 

Religion through these three Twitter accounts is framed as a means to remain happy and in good spirits despite troubles in one's life. Faith in the general belief that Christ will prevail regardless of the struggles on the Earth is the theme of hope each of these Twitter users seem to be inspiring. 

After considering the data I have gathered thus far in my research I have been able to form (what I think will) be my research question for my case study.

Are the vital ideals of Christianity being diminished (regarded as less sacred) or strengthened (becoming pervasive throughout more of society) because of the tweets from evangelical leaders alongside parody accounts of deities through the popular social media website, Twitter?  

The key traits of lived religion lived out on Twitter through these few users is that all of their tweets are consistent thus far and have yet to promote contradictory messages. This will help me with my research in the future because it will help me predict future tweet trends. 

Comparing Tweets over a Week

After discussing my original case proposal I thought it would be better to add another twitter account to be analyzed in order to broaden the scope of the research. I am still analyzing twitter accounts. One account, Max Lucado's, is the example of the official religion twitter account because he is the one of the three that is an actual practicing preacher. The Hood Jesus account and Revered Run Wisdom's account would be the examples of a lived religion. 

I took three tweets from each account during a span of a week. I selected tweets from September 15th, 14th and 12th. The following tweets I selected are below: 

Twitter as a social media platform is unique compared to other forms because it allows the audience to directly interact with the one posting the tweets. It creates the facade of a personal relationship with the tweeter because you are able to correspond back and forth with each other. Most times celebrities and other well-known accounts will interact with their followers on a regular basis. This gives a more colloquial feel to religion as opposed to a traditional more structured view of communicating religion. Twitter opens up the dialogue for religious conversation. Those tweeting devotional tweets are exposing themselves to possible direct reticule and backlash from followers or random people who happen upon their posts. This opens vast options for both those trying to send out a positive Christian message as well as the consumer of those messages. It opens many doors to those creating the messages because it allows for the previously mentioned closer relationships with those following the messages. It also allows the message creator 24/7 access to the consumer because they can constantly update their twitter feed rather than waiting to put out a certain message on Sunday mornings during a church service. They can be in constant communication with the congregation leading to what some might see, in Max Lucado's case, as a stronger bond between the pastor and his clergy. It offers many avenues for those running the Hood Jesus account as well as Rev Run because they are given an audience of what could be millions to spread a message. The possibility of such audience gives a lot of power to the hands it is put. Twitter also offers limitations as well. Twitter is limiting in that you can only write a 140 character message. Often times that can inhibit the content of the message you are trying to present or forces you to summarize a more complex thought. Often times, if quoting Biblical scripture, the quote is much longer than the allotted character space and a paraphrase is necessary. Paraphrasing can often be tricky because depending on the paraphraser's interpretation of the scripture can completely alter another's understanding of that same scripture. Also with Twitter's space restraints no previous context is allowed which can sometimes result in mixed messages. 

After reading through the chosen Tweets by my selected accounts it is apparent all three Twitter user's goal is to promote a positive message through Christian ideals. The primary message each seem to be communicating are as follows:

• Despite hard times, do not worry because God is in control
• Salvation through Christ is the ultimate prize

Just by studying three tweets over a week span from each account I was able to get a good understanding of what kind of future tweets I can expect from each account. Max Lucado, as expected, tweets very traditional values and scripture. Rev Run tweets sometimes seem lyrical as if he were rapping them. Hood Jesus tweets using slang term and abbreviated words to express the feeling of rap-like speak. Despite all of the major differences in syntax the overwhelming theme of all three accounts is that Christianity and positivity are the answer. 

Hood Jesus vs. Max Lucado

            For my Religious Communication class we were asked to formulate a case study analyzing religion's role in new media. I wanted to do research over a medium that I use daily so of course I thought of Twitter. The following is my case study proposal: 

          Although often a taboo topic, religion has remained a consistent facet in life since the dawn of time. This is even found true in the modern technological era. Religion has transcended any previous restrictive barriers and is now predominantly displayed via the Internet through every social networking medium. Twitter is no exception. Both famous Protestant pastors as well as no-named parody accounts of Jesus Christ himself litter the web. The proposed case study will be an in-depth comparison of three Christian faith-based Twitter accounts. The first being the personal Twitter account of famous San Antonio based evangelical pastor and author Max Lucado. Max Lucado's account would be an example of official religion. The second is the anonymous Jesus Christ parody account known as “Hood Jesus” and the third is the personal twitter account of Reverend Run Wisdom. "Rev Run" is a former rapper from Run DMC turned inspirational tweeter. The case study will include a comparison of daily inspirational tweets, use the content of the two accounts to assess how religion is displayed over social media, compare follower’s responses to similar tweets via “favorite” and “retweet” tracking as well as attempt to better understand whether or not the prevalence of well-known religious heads alongside holy parody accounts and inspirational figures affects the perceived sacredness of religion.

            The comparison of the three Twitter accounts will prove interesting because they are all centered around Christian ideals, yet, they represent two polar ends of society. Max Lucado is prestigious, wealthy and educated while the anonymous Hood Jesus parody account pokes fun at society’s obsession with hip-hop music through the translation of Bible scripture into pop culture references and lyrics in each tweet. Rev Run Wisdom also represents pop culture through his previous rapping history, yet promotes a positive Christian message alongside rap culture. One account is straight laced and serious while the Hood Jesus account is a silly rendition of turning “rap life” into “real life.” Rev Run holds a middle ground; He is a prominent figure in society but still promotes the same popular culture which Hood Jesus resides. By comparing the three accounts the study will strive to answer the question of whether or not religion is losing its’ reverence by engaging in both comical, serious and popular outlooks of one’s beliefs over the same social media platform.