--- title: The Problem With #AshTag on Ash Wednesday description: The Church is in danger of stripping its rituals of their solemnity and meaning for the fleeting, ephemeral popularity of a social media event canonical: https://time.com/3713768/ashtag-ash-wednesday/ author: TIME article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-18T18:03:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:05:34.138Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Problem With #AshTag on Ash Wednesday og:description: The Church is in danger of stripping its rituals of their solemnity and meaning for the fleeting, ephemeral popularity of a social media event og:url: https://time.com/3713768/ashtag-ash-wednesday/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Problem With #AshTag on Ash Wednesday twitter:description: The Church is in danger of stripping its rituals of their solemnity and meaning for the fleeting, ephemeral popularity of a social media event twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # The Problem With #AshTag on Ash Wednesday by [Patheos](https://time.com/author/patheos/) ## Patheos Feb 18, 2015 6:03 PM UTC by [Patheos](https://time.com/author/patheos/) ## Patheos Feb 18, 2015 6:03 PM UTC  Let’s just go all the way this Ash Wednesday and stop imposing ashen crosses on foreheads all together. Instead, let’s simply impose hashtags made of ash. Because, if we are honest, that’s largely what this day has become about. The #AshTag, not the ashes. The virtual, not the real. The immortal digital, not the mortal flesh. Ash Wednesday is no longer about repentance and self-examination but about retweets and selfies. Welcome to #Ashtag Wednesday. Last year, we saw the rise of Ash Wednesday as a trending social media event instead of a solemn service. Clergy mugged for cameras in sacristies with ash on their foreheads. Parishioners shared selfies with the world. The whole world saw Christians standing on the virtual street corner praying and making their fasts public spectacles. We did the exact thing the Gospel for the day asked us not to. It is a frustrating trend. A dear friend once said she loved Ash Wednesday because, unlike Easter or Christmas, it was the one day on the Christian calendar that couldn’t be commodified by popular culture. But what is impossible for man is certainly possible with the church. Get your #AshTag in church. Where will you get your #AshTag? Post your Ash Wednesday selfie and you might be one of 50 lucky people to win a book! These are actual pitches this year — by religious organizations — for Ash Wednesday services. > [](https://twitter.com/USCCB/status/565910003467681792) These churches, leaders or organizations aren’t encouraging people to receive ashes as part of the liturgy, as a way to enter into Lent, or as a way to ponder our mortality or the sobering reminder that we are dust and will return to dust. Rather, they are implicitly encouraging people to come to church in order to post of selfie. It fetishizes ashes. It centers the purpose of ashes in the public consumption of photos and social media rather than in reminding us of our mortality. The systemic push within the church for Ash Wedneday selfies is an exercise in whistling past graveyards. That’s the unfortunate context of the call to “get your #Ashtag.” > [](https://twitter.com/BCCampusMin/status/567366134190841857) So, while I truly hope people don’t post their Ash Wednesday selfies this year, I really can’t blame them. This isn’t about the individuals posting selfies. It’s about the church itself, which is promoting it, driving it, and attempting to create cool trends rather than to call people into deeper meaning for the season of Lent. In doing so, the Church is in danger of stripping its rituals of their solemnity and meaning for the fleeting, ephemeral popularity of a social media event. Ash Wednesday is, if nothing else, a reminder of our mortality. How ironic that now there is a rush to immortalize our piety on this day through the eternal digital life where neither rust destroys nor moth consumes. We store up these treasures on Twitter. We have hollowed out the holy call for self-examination with narcissism. We’ve exchanged the sacred for the selfie. _This_ [_article_](http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davidhenson/2015/02/imposing-hashtags-the-problem-with-ashtag-on-ash-wednesday/) _originally appeared on_ [_Patheos_](http://www.patheos.com/)_._ _Read more from Patheos:_ * [Why I Will Not #AshTag](http://www.patheos.com/blogs/moniqueocampowrites/2015/02/17/why-i-will-not-ashtag/) * [Should You Wipe Your Forehead Before Going to Work on Ash Wednesday?](http://www.patheos.com/blogs/workmessages/2015/02/should-you-wipe-your-forehead-before-going-into-work-on-ash-wednesday/) * [Will You Wear Your Faith at Work?](http://www.patheos.com/blogs/margefenelon/2015/02/will-you-wear-your-faith-at-work/) ### The Most Surprising Photos of Pope Francis  The wind lifts Pope Francis' mantle as he delivers his speech in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, on Sept. 26, 2015. Tony Gentile—AP  Pope Francis looks at the Statue of Liberty from the window of a helicopter on his way to the John F. Kennedy International Airport, in New York City, on Sept. 26, 2015. L'Osservatore Romano/AP  A Pope Francis mannequin rides around in a car in Times Square as New York City waits for the arrival of the Pope to the city, on Sept. 24, 2015. Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty Images  Kaydn Dorsey, 4, and Lionel Perkins, 4, draw on a coloring sheet bearing the image of Pope Francis as they wait for him to arrive on a visit to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington in Washington, on Sept. 24, 2015. David Goldman—Reuters  Nuns with the Hospitaler Sisters of Mercy in Pleasantville, N.J., pose for a selfie with a cutout of Pope Francis, at the World Meeting of Families conference, in Philadelphia, on Sept. 22, 2015. Matt Rourke—AP  Pope Francis blows out the candles of a birthday cake to celebrate his 78th birthday during a general audience at the Vatican on Dec. 17, 2014. Osservatore Romano/AFP/Getty Images  Paying the bill at Rome's Domus Internationalis Paulus VI hotel, where Pope Francis stayed as a cardinal before entering the conclave and being elected pope. Osservatore Romano/AP  Welcoming Pope emeritus Benedict XVI as he returns to the Vatican from the pontifical summer residence of Castel Gandolfo. Osservatore Romano/AP  Holding a disabled child after celebrating Easter Mass. Alessandro di Meo—ANSA/Zuma Press  Pope Francis masks in a factory in Brazil, where the Pontiff took his first overseas trip. Christophe Simon—AFP/Getty Images  Leading the Worldwide Eucharistic adoration at the Vatican. Alessandra Benedetti—Corbis  A gust of wind blows the pope's mantle. Alessandra Tarantino—AP  Attending the opening of the Pastoral Convention of the Diocese of Rome. Stefano Rellandini—Reuters  Leaving a welcoming ceremony at Guanabara Palace in Rio de Janeiro. Ricardo Moraes—Reuters  Greeting the weekly General Audience. Stefano Rellandini—Reuters  Pointing to the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida from the balcony of the Aparecida basilica in Brazil. Domenico Stinellis—AP  A Catholic faithful in Brazil bears a sticker of Pope Francis on his forehead. Ueslei Marcelino—Reuters  Images of Pope Francis projected onto screens at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. Paulo Whitaker— Reuters  Departing Rio de Janeiro. Ricardo Moraes—Reuters  A stray dog walks across the stage near the altar where Pope Francis celebrates the World Youth Day's closing Mass on the Copacabana beachfront. Victor R. Caivano—AP  Listening to confessions of young people in a park in Rio de Janeiro. L'Osservatore Romano—EPA  Posing with youths in Saint Peter's Basilica. L'Osservatore Romano—EPA  Greeting the faithful on a rainy day during the General Audience. Fabio Frustaci—Eidon Press/Zuma Press  Arriving to lead his General Audience in a firefighter's helmet. Stefano Rellandini—Reuters  A quiet moment after meeting with Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo at the Vatican. Max Rossi—Reuters  Marking the 110th anniversary UNITALSI, a Catholic organization dedicated to helping the sick. Francesco Zizola—NOOR for TIME  A private Audience with Russian President Vladimir Putin. L'Osservatore Romano/AP  Keeping warm during a General Audience. Alessandra Tarantino—AP  Comforting a disfigured man at the end of his General Audience. Claudio Peri—EPA  Blessing a sick man with deformed facial features. Evandro Inetti—Zuma Press  Visiting the parish of the Sant'Alfonso Maria de Liguori during the Epiphany day. L'Osservatore Romano—AFP/Getty Images  Reacting to devotees at a weekly General Audience. Alessandro Bianchi—Reuters  A seagull attacks a dove released during a prayer conducted by Pope Francis. Alessandro Bianchi—Reuters  A scarf is tossed at Pope Francis by a faithful. Tony Gentile—Reuters  Italian artist Mauro Pallotta's superhero rendering of Pope Francis in a street near St. Peter's Basilica. Alessandra Benedetti—Corbis  Blowing a kiss to pilgrims gathered at Saint Peter's Square. Vincenzo Pinto—AFP/Getty Images  Meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in the private library of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. Vatican Pool/Contrasto/Redux  With Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at the Vatican. Alessandra Benedetti—Vatican Pool/Corbis  A wind gust lifts Pope Francis's mantle as he arrives at the traditional Washing of the Feet during Holy Thursday. Alberto Pizzoli—AFP/Getty Images  Kissing a man's at the traditional Washing of the Feet. Alberto Pizzoli—AFP/Getty Images  Visitors take photos of Pope Francis as he speaks from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Michael Sohn—AP _Read next:_ [_3 Things to Know About Ash Wednesday_](http://time.com/3713126/ash-wednesday/?xid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3713768/ashtag-ash-wednesday/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3713768/ashtag-ash-wednesday/"},"headline":"The Problem With #AshTag on Ash Wednesday","datePublished":"2015-02-18T18:03:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:34.138Z","description":"The Church is in danger of stripping its rituals of their solemnity and meaning for the fleeting, ephemeral popularity of a social media event","url":"https://time.com/3713768/ashtag-ash-wednesday/","keywords":["faith","Social Media","hashtag"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Patheos","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/patheos/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/faith/","name":"faith"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3713768/ashtag-ash-wednesday/","name":"The Problem With #AshTag on Ash Wednesday"}}]}] ```