Mrs Reyhaneh Agharajabi, Dr Mohammadreza Rasouli, Dr Seyed Mahmoud Nejati Hoseini,
Volume 25, Issue 79 (12-2025)
This study explores the cultural geography and styles of religiosity among Iranian users on Instagram, with a particular focus on how virtual spaces shape religious expression. Adopting an inductive approach, the research utilizes netnography (online ethnography) as a qualitative method. Instagram pages with religious content and significant follower counts—managed by influential figures in the religious sphere—were selected as the study sample. In total, 14 Instagram pages representing diverse religious orientations were analyzed. The posts, comments, and other published content on these pages served as the units of analysis, and data coding was conducted using MaxQDA software. Findings revealed that after the ritual dimension, the moral dimension was the most frequently recurring theme. Through analysis, nine distinct types of religiosity were identified among users, highlighting the influence of virtual geography on religious behavior and perceptions. Each user embodied a unique form of religiosity within the "soft cities" of the digital space, shaped by their environmental context and accumulated spatial experiences within the religious marketplace of Instagram. Among the dominant types were ritualistic religiosity, characterized by an emphasis on practices and ceremonies, and traditionalist religiosity, which aligns closely with official religious discourse. Other identified forms included rational, self-referential, epistemic, mystical, mixed, emotional, and fundamentalist religiosity. These categories reflect the pluralism of religious identities, values, and behaviors in Iranian society as manifested in cyberspace. Ultimately, the study underscores the profound impact of virtual cultural geography on contemporary religious culture and its diverse manifestations in digital environments.
