Members of  /r/atheism are part of an internet culture: an internet culture is a culture with distinct attributes and views that primarily uses the internet to facilitate interaction.

Nayar has a great explanation of cybercultures. Nayar’s passage –

Ethnographies of cyberculture, suggests Arturo Escobar (1996), need to look at the ways in which software and applications are designed as well as used, the creation of online communities and networks, the popular cultural forms of such technologies (from cyberpunk to computer games), the cultural identities that emerge in the new technospaces, and the political economy of cyberculture

– provides a basis of our study. We will be looking at the community of r/atheism and attempt to understand both how the Internet affects the content as well as shapes the identity of the community and it’s values.

The difference between an internet culture and a culture is the use of the Internet as an ICT in shaping the culture’s attributes (i.e. their communication).

Why /r/atheism is an Internet Culture »

If we are to define a culture as a group of individuals with a unified sense of identity or shared values, /r/atheism, contains a virtual space that provides individuals with unified values a place to meet, converse, and share opinions with like-minded individuals. All posts contained in /r/atheism are related to disproving the existence of God or highlighting the power of science. Like other cultures, there is also a large amount of controversy of individuals who are on /r/atheism. A very common claim is that many subscribers of this channel are bitter elitists because of the common nature of posts to be ‘x’ religion is ridiculous because of A, B, and C supporting evidence or ‘x’ religion is ignorant and stupid. There are five main arguments that

Community Resources in /r/atheism »

/r/atheism is not only the largest forum for atheists on the internet, but also features a ton of resources that helps facilitate knowledge of atheism. On the sidebar of /r/atheism, users are provided recommended reading, recommended viewing, as well as recommended sub-reddits for those interested in coming out of a religion and for former members of an organized religion.  /r/atheism also provides a calendar of offline events, and resources to start clubs, come out of an organized religion, as well as atheist havens . It also has a FAQ that contains arguments, information on atheism, and common misnomers of atheism: these resources define the general identity and beliefs of atheists. /r/atheism also contains a chat channel, video feed, and thank you notes (the religious equivalent of success stories)