Reddit

Members of the Baha'i Faith have been active on Reddit since at least 2008, not long after the site gave users the ability to create their own subreddits, or groups, devoted to a particular topic. Most discussions about the Bahá'í Faith on Reddit happen on /r/bahai, a subreddit devoted to current events and discussions relating to the Bahá'í Faith. Bahá'ís on Reddit have supported several open question-and-answer sessions (known as AMAs, "Ask Me Anything") about the Bahá'í Faith, including two well-received sessions on Reddit’s main religion-related group, /r/religion: One in 2014, and another in 2016.

Overview

Reddit is a popular social media website known for link sharing and discussion. The site is divided into subreddits, or groups, devoted to various topics, where subscribers share, view, comment on, and vote for their favourite content.

/r/bahai is a subreddit devoted to current events and discussions relating to the Bahá'í Faith, but it is open to people of all backgrounds. A team of four moderators help to manage the subreddit and encourage "an environment of constructive discourse... while at the same time respecting the open nature of Reddit". Discussions are wide-ranging, but common themes are questions from individuals investigating the Bahá'í Faith and its teachings, advice on how to apply Bahá'í teachings to personal life, and news from around the Bahá'í world.

There are currently several other subreddits related to /r/bahai, each with a different focus:

• /r/bahaiquotes, for sharing quotes from the Bahá’í Writings, along with the Scriptures of other major world religions.
• /r/bahaipics, for sharing Bahá'í-inspired photography and art.
• /r/bahainews, for sharing news articles that are related to the Bahá’í Faith.
• /r/bahaihistory, for sharing stories and anecdotes about the Bahá’í Faith, including biographies of Bahá'ís and historical retrospectives in an "On this day..." style.
• /r/bahaidev, for the discussion of Bahá’í-inspired software, hardware or web projects.

AMAs

Reddit has related posts:

• Bahá'í AMA on Reddit, May 2014
• Bahá'í AMA on Reddit, June 2016
• Baha'is on Reddit react to Rainn Wilson doing an AMA

"AMA", or "Ask Me Anything", is an open question-and-answer format popular on Reddit, in which an individual (or group of individuals—in that case "AUA", or "Ask Us Anything") invites questions from Reddit's userbase, answering them to the best of his/her (or their) ability.

Subscribers of /r/bahai supported their first collaborative AMA on /r/religion in May 2014; a summary article appeared in the Huffington Post shortly thereafter. A second collaborative AMA took place in June 2016.

Individual Bahá'ís have also offered AMAs on Reddit. Rainn Wilson, an American Bahá'í known for his role on the TV show The Office, has offered two AMAs, in which he answered questions about his belief in the Baha'i Faith.

History and growth

Reddit has a related post:
Baha'i Group on Reddit Celebrates 9 Years!

/r/bahai was created on May 27, 2008. During the first few years after its creation, the group grew slowly; according to one estimate, the subreddit had 100 subscribers as of October 2012. As of June 2013, that number had increased to 500 subscribers, and as of March 2015, the group reached 1,000 subscribers. As of May 2016, /r/bahai had around 1600 subscribers, and averaged one or two new posts every day.

External links

• The Baha'i Faith on Reddit - Discussions, current events and more! (/r/bahai)
  • Baha'i Quotes - Gems of inspiration from the Baha'i Faith (/r/bahaiquotes)
  • Baha'i Pics - Beautiful Baha'i-themed photography (/r/bahaipics)
  • Baha'i News - News and current events about the Baha'i Faith (/r/bahainews)
  • Baha'i History - Looking back at the early days of the Baha'i Faith (/r/bahaihistory)
  • Baha'i Dev - Developing software and spirit (/r/bahaidev)