This poster examines how Indian faith-based organizations (FBOs) use social media to construct and circulate nationalist discourse. Drawing on framing theory, mediatized religion, and research on affective publics, we conduct a content analysis of official accounts from a purposive sample of social media platforms - Twitter, Facebook and Instagram in last one year. Posts were coded for discursive frames (civilizational heritage and pride, nation-as-sacred, unity and civic belonging, security and sovereignty, welfare/seva as nation-building, and boundary-drawing/othering), rhetorical strategies (hashtags, slogans, scriptural and historical references), multimodal cues (tricolour, maps, monuments, uniforms, patriotic music), temporal markers (national holidays, commemorations, crises), and calls to action (donations, volunteering, petitioning). Human coding of a stratified sample was complemented by introductory computational text and image features and engagement metrics to assess reach, resonance, and platform-specific patterns. Findings indicate that FBOs routinely hybridize devotional and patriotic repertoires: devotional posts are interlaced with national symbols and civilizational narratives; seva is framed as service to the nation; and commemorative content anchors religious identity within a shared national time. Attention spikes around national days and policy moments, with X/Twitter used for issue advocacy and alignment with institutional agendas, while Instagram/YouTube emphasize visual spectacle and affect. Although inclusive unity frames are prevalent, some content delineates moral boundaries in subtle ways, positioning religious-cultural authenticity as the locus of legitimate national belonging. The study contributes evidence that FBOs function as cultural intermediaries translating religious repertoires into nationalist idioms within platform logics, with implications for public discourse, pluralism, and the governance of civic communication.

Authors:
Shivangi Asthana, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

About the Presenter(s)
Shivangi is a PhD student at the School of Communication at Hong Kong Baptist University. Her interest lies in politics and media conflicts, focusing on South Asian countries. She aims to understand global media from the lens of resilience, ideologic

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shivangi-asthana-/

See this presentation on the full schedule – Friday Schedule

Bookmark