Social Media Communications Strategies among Taoist Organizations in China: The Role of Weibo as a Communication Platform for Taoist Temples

Abstract

Based on the concepts of ‘online religion’ and ‘religion online’ developed by Helland (2000),this study focuses on how three Taoist temples use the Chinese social media Weibo to both transmit information and interact with their religious followers. By analyzing the content of the articles posted on their Weibo channel during the month celebrating the 2016 Chinese New Year, the study will try to determine two things: Firstly, what kind of information each temple shares with its audience. Secondly, how do Taoist organizations perceive social media as a communication tool? According to this study, there are 20 functions of Weibo for temples to use and those serve ‘religion online’ purpose are utilized more by recruited temples than those for ‘online religion’ purpose.