Everyone knows that if you want to stay out of trouble — don’t talk about politics or religion. Or at least we USED to know. Now that everyone who is anyone uses social media, we can share humorous memes about anything from the pearly gates to the hallways of hell without fear of offending. All we need is the magic algorithm that keeps us surrounded by posts from like-minded friends, and away from screeds spewed forth by, you know, trolls. But I digress.
Judging by their sheer numbers pulsating through the ether, religious memes are innumerable. OK, Google says there are about 764 million specimens, of which 148 million are Christian, 20 million Muslim, 13 million Jewish, and the rest, apparently, miscellaneous. Some poke light fun at familiar faith themes – Jesus, community customs and rules, scripture, etc. Some push the envelope all the way to the brimstony banks of the blasphemous. So of course the occasional euphemism may be called for . . .Heck is where you go if you don’t believe in Gosh
There are some clever atheistic memes out there. But aggressive, anti-religious memes tend to be more acerbic than amusing. So if you do choose to pass along a favorite religious meme, try to make it as ecumenical as possible like the one above.
