If multi-billion dollar brands and corporations could work out the recipe for making an advert go viral, they'd be making even more money than they are now. But the secret ingredient required to get an image, video or other type of online content to go viral remains very much a mystery. Of course, we can identify similarities between the things that do go down well.
Cute is always a winner but it'll take more than an adorable puppy, kitten or baby to secure the astronomical interest that viral content garners, and the subjects will have to possess a quality that gives them an edge. Funny works too and images that tug on the heartstrings also have the capacity to reach huge audiences.
Viral content doesn't have to contain all the components mentioned but one element that seems to tie the success of all these viral posts together is that they are something out of the ordinary.
Could this be the same reason that pictures of public prayer often go viral? And what is it about prayer that resonates with so many people online in a way that churchgoing doesn't?
In recent months, two images of public prayer were shared by hundreds of thousands of social media users and even made it into local and international news outlets. The first depicted a teenager praying over a homeless man and the second showed three coffee shop workers praying with a grieving widow.
Prayer is undeniably an extraordinary act, but for most Christians witnessing someone in prayer in private or in public isn't going to make them reach for their phone to capture the moment and share it online. It's not that Christians have become immune to the power of prayer but it's something that we're so familiar with.
For non-believers, there may be a more powerful reaction because they don't often see prayer in action - as figures on belief and prayer in America suggest. So the act of prayer is seen through a different prism. It's extraordinary, but in an entirely different way.
Probably though, a lot of it has to do with the fct that people have an instinctive desire to connect with one another, and this extends beyond the virtual confines of social media. In addition to this, despite falling numbers of conventional religious believers, the number of people who have a belief in a higher power remains high. The viral nature of public prayer pictures reinforces what the data tells us - that many people still have an appetite to connect with their spiritual side but they don't see the church as the route to feeding that hunger.
So why don't they see church as the way to help them develop a true faith?
Negative press
One of the reasons that church isn't seen as the next step is because of the impact years of negative press have had on people's perceptions. Scandals, abuse cover ups and controversial standpoints have all worked to alienate people from viewing church as a viable option for them. All of these problems have caused believers inside and outside of the church to mistrust it. In contrast, prayer is a visible display of trust – a trust in God that He exists, will listen, and that He can intervene, be a source of comfort and guidance, and for those being prayed for, trust in the intentions of those praying for them.
They want to see before they believe
Some people just don't equate church with a loving family and community. Rather it is an institution to be suspicious of. Or less sinister than that, it's not something that adds value to life - "I'm perfectly happy and good without goind to church thank you very much!". And that might play into why clicks don't convert into people walking through church doors – the church simply isn't on their radar.
Moreover, many churches are yet to embrace the technology which is an integral part of the lives of the very people who share and connect with these pictures of prayer. By not utilising the visual impact that such displays of faith can have or failing to promote the connection between prayer and church in the community outside the congregation the church is missing a huge opportunity to connect with this generation. There have been efforts to embrace technology, established institutions like the Vatican and the Church of England have both made considerable efforts to do so and modern churches such as Hillsong and HTB have clearly invested in and understood the important role technology plays in connecting people to the church, but these innovations don't reach far enough.
Perceived incompatibility with modern life
Today, an online presence is almost as important as a physical presence and the lack of one can reinforce people's beliefs that the church is incompatible with modern life. In the same vein, the belief that there's an incompatibility between modern life and Christian morality can also contribute to prevent people from turning to the church.
Like the idea that there is a dichotomy between science and faith, the perception that modern life and Christian morality don't mix is extremely damaging to the church's image.
In contrast, prayer pictures highlight some of the fundamental aspects of Christianity – love, compassion, a relationship - in plain sight. There's no fancy jargon to navigate, the message is clear.
Mistaken belief that it's exclusive
An inability to keep up with technology across the board and finding itself on the unpopular side of contentious issues has furthered the belief that the church isn't just irrelevant but that it's exclusive too. The conviction that the church's standpoint on topics regarding race, sexuality and gender are at extreme odds with the views held by people whose lives are affected by these issues creates more distance between the two parties.
What the images of public prayer do is break down those social and physical barriers. We see the breakdown of social barriers – a teenager and a homeless person, a group of millennials and a mature woman – and physical barriers, in the case of those who see the physical church building as an obstacle to their relationship with God. Suddenly faith is accessible.
There is potential for the church to learn a lot from the reactions to these viral images, and use them to inform innovative ways to encourage people to see church as the place where they can experience in full what they got a glimpse of in that viral prayer photo.
While expressions of spirituality online can be uplifting in times when it seems as though every other day a new study reports the drop in believers, we shouldn't get complacent but should view these instances as an opportunity. It may take a church-driven viral campaign to alter the negative image that it has among some groups. And this won't need to take place exclusively online but in real life too.
