The Representation of Religion as Fiction in TED Talks: A Critical Metaphor Analysis

Abstract

This paper explores the representation of the general concept of religion in TED Talks. The aim of this study is to investigate how religion is framed in TED speeches from 2006 to 2018, and what are the possible religious or irreligious ideologies implied in these speeches. By adopting Charteris-Black’s (2004, 2018) Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) analytical framework, Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980, 2003) Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), and with the assistance of Corpus Linguistics (Baker et al., 2008), the analysis was performed on sixty-seven TED speeches delivered by diverse and prominent speakers. Focusing on the FICTION novel metaphor, the results indicate that TED speakers tend to portray God, religion, and religious beliefs as fictional characters and stories. Thus, God and religion are unreal, and believing in them is an irrational and immature decision.