sustain:if:able kiwi

emoji-gesis! Visualising online climate change activism: public eco-theologies in grassroots climate-justice organisations article

I’m delighted to have some new research published in Theology journal.

Taylor, S. (2025). Visualizing online climate change activism: public eco-theologies in grassroots climate-justice organizations. Theology, 128(4), 247-256. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040571X251354942

Keywords – climate justice – digital activism – public theology – social media – visual grammar

My paper explores how visual images are used in digital activism. Visual images are a key dimension of online communication. I research the social media visual images of two UK Christian organisations activating for climate justice.

I describe visual grammar analysis and emoji-gesis. I demonstrate how colour, perspective and composition read the header images of these two activist organisations. I do emoji-gesis by tracking how emoji’s communicate different activist journeys.

The visual grammar of the two organisations is distinctive. The visual posting is a public theology that communicates activist journeys, intergenerational participation and prayer. Images of prayer as public witness offer a unique online activism, different from how secular activist organisations mobilise collective action. The research has practical implications for Christian organisations. It encourages developing unique visual identities rather than one-size fits all approaches to activism.

I’m delighted for several reasons.

1. Its great to have some emoji-gesis published. The article includes analysis of emojis used online in climate justice organisations. There is an entire paragraph where I write with the emojis (the Theology journal kindly let me offer a colour version for free).
2. It’s always great to be published academically and to watch work grow and improve through peer review and copy editing.
3. This is the first public research output emerging from my research fellowship with IASH, Edinburgh. There has been a long slow burn – applying for the research fellowship, navigating research ethics in a different university, learning in a new city.
4. It’s a placemarker and the first in what will be a range of outputs from the Grassroots digital activisms project. There is a book chapter accepted. The April 2025 colloquium is a work in progress toward a special issue of a journal. There is ongoing research which could well result in more outputs.
5. To have all this emerging from what was such a fun 7 weeks in Edinburgh is very satisfying.