Nationalizing Christianity and Hijacking Religion on Facebook

Yes to wearing the cross whenever and wherever I choose (YWC) is a Facebook group that was established in November 2013 to campaign for the right of a television news anchor to wear a cross pendant. YWC with its more than 100,000 likes, swiftly became a locus for discussing religion in society in general. A range of participants, with various agendas and modes of interaction are drawn to YWC: conservative Christians, nationalists, humanists, fervent sec- ularists, and ardent atheists – ‘hijacking religion’ in multiple ways. Among those positive to Christianity, it is for the most part construed as either a religion of ‘identity’ or ‘compassion’. This chapter builds on ethnographic research and fo- cuses on the generic positions, repetitive patterns of communication, writing styles, and modes of enacting the conflict(s). There is a particular emphasis on how people’s emotions, narratives, and worldviews shape the way they en- gage with mediatized conflict and play into the internal group dynamics. Keywords: mediatized conflict, hijacking religion, Christianity, social media, na- tionalis