Research Institute of Culture, Art and Communication Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance Journal of Culture-Communication Studies 2008-8760 26 71 2025 09 23 Religion industry؛ Semiotic analysis of the representation of religious dimensions in the popular TV series "paytakht 3" Religion industry؛ Semiotic analysis of the representation of religious dimensions in the popular TV series "paytakht 3" 241 289 221160 10.22083/jccs.2025.475874.3932 FA Hossein Rajaeirad M.A. in cultural studies and media, Department of Communication, Communication Faculty, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran 0009-0001-2923-7875 Ali Asghar Keya Professor of Faculty of Communication Sciences at Allameh Tabataba’i University. Tehran, Iran Journal Article 2024 08 31 In the contemporary era, media, particularly television, play an unparalleled role in shaping mental constructs and redefining socio-cultural concepts. This research focuses on the popular TV series “Pāyetakht3” to analyze how dimensions of religiosity are represented within televised narratives. The culture industry, through content standardization, paves the way for homogenizing audience perceptions. Television, as a pervasive medium, utilizes hidden codes to naturalize preferred meanings and promote standardized behavioral patterns.<br>The theoretical foundation of this research rests on three pillars: Stuart Hall’s theory of representation, which emphasizes the construction of meaning through dominant discourses. Saussurean semiotics, which analyzes signifiers and signifieds in media texts. John Fiske’s three-level model comprising the levels of reality, representation, and ideology, which serves as a suitable analytical tool for uncovering hidden layers of media texts. Dimensions of religiosity are categorized based on Ninian Smart’s six-dimensional model (ritual, experiential, narrative, doctrinal, ethical, and social).<br>This qualitative study employs semiotic analysis. The research population consists of popular Iranian TV series from the 2010s, with “Pāyeght 3” selected as a purposeful sample. Data includes scenes that directly or indirectly address religiosity. Two main tools were used for data analysis: Fiske’s three-level model to uncover social codes (appearance, clothing, behavior), technical codes (lighting, camera angles, music), and ideological codes (patriarchal concepts, capitalism, religious norms). Saussure’s axes of syntagm and paradigm to examine the relationship between signifiers and signifieds in the narrative structure of the series.The unit of analysis consists of shots and scenes where religious elements are present.<br>Analysis of selected scenes reveals that the representation of religiosity in “Pāyetakht3” operates within two main strategies:<br> Stereotyping: Reducing religious practices to simple, repetitive patterns (praying, seeking intercession, religious oaths). Creating symbolic boundaries between “us” (devout characters) and “them” (non-conformist characters). Emphasizing the ritual dimension of religion (prayer, tayammum) as the most prominent aspect of religiosity.<br>Naturalization: Presenting religious acts as spontaneous and innate (turning to God in crises). Integrating religious beliefs into daily life in a seamless manner. Normalizing ideological messages through indirect dialogue. Dimensions of religiosity are represented unevenly: Frequently represented dimensions: Ritual (prayer, tayammum), ethical (honesty, forgiveness), and doctrinal (reliance on God, seeking intercession). Underrepresented dimensions: Experiential (mystical experiences), narrative (mythological stories), and social (religious institutions).<br>“Pāyetakht3” utilizes mechanisms of stereotyping and naturalization to represent a uniform and standardized model of religiosity aligned with the dominant religious discourse. This representation, while ignoring the diversity of religious experiences, reinforces specific norms whose social consequences include homogenizing religious interpretations and marginalizing diverse patterns. Although the series belongs to the social-family and humorous genre, findings indicate that it also represents religious messages: 1) negative consequences of bad actions, 2) positive outcomes of good deeds, and 3) The series implies the existence of a divine power governing worldly affairs and portrays stereotypical religious scenarios. In the analyzed series, most religious messaging falls within the doctrinal-ideological, ethical-jurisprudential, and ritual dimensions of religiosity. In the contemporary era, media, particularly television, play an unparalleled role in shaping mental constructs and redefining socio-cultural concepts. This research focuses on the popular TV series “Pāyetakht3” to analyze how dimensions of religiosity are represented within televised narratives. The culture industry, through content standardization, paves the way for homogenizing audience perceptions. Television, as a pervasive medium, utilizes hidden codes to naturalize preferred meanings and promote standardized behavioral patterns.<br>The theoretical foundation of this research rests on three pillars: Stuart Hall’s theory of representation, which emphasizes the construction of meaning through dominant discourses. Saussurean semiotics, which analyzes signifiers and signifieds in media texts. John Fiske’s three-level model comprising the levels of reality, representation, and ideology, which serves as a suitable analytical tool for uncovering hidden layers of media texts. Dimensions of religiosity are categorized based on Ninian Smart’s six-dimensional model (ritual, experiential, narrative, doctrinal, ethical, and social).<br>This qualitative study employs semiotic analysis. The research population consists of popular Iranian TV series from the 2010s, with “Pāyeght 3” selected as a purposeful sample. Data includes scenes that directly or indirectly address religiosity. Two main tools were used for data analysis: Fiske’s three-level model to uncover social codes (appearance, clothing, behavior), technical codes (lighting, camera angles, music), and ideological codes (patriarchal concepts, capitalism, religious norms). Saussure’s axes of syntagm and paradigm to examine the relationship between signifiers and signifieds in the narrative structure of the series.The unit of analysis consists of shots and scenes where religious elements are present.<br>Analysis of selected scenes reveals that the representation of religiosity in “Pāyetakht3” operates within two main strategies:<br> Stereotyping: Reducing religious practices to simple, repetitive patterns (praying, seeking intercession, religious oaths). Creating symbolic boundaries between “us” (devout characters) and “them” (non-conformist characters). Emphasizing the ritual dimension of religion (prayer, tayammum) as the most prominent aspect of religiosity.<br>Naturalization: Presenting religious acts as spontaneous and innate (turning to God in crises). Integrating religious beliefs into daily life in a seamless manner. Normalizing ideological messages through indirect dialogue. Dimensions of religiosity are represented unevenly: Frequently represented dimensions: Ritual (prayer, tayammum), ethical (honesty, forgiveness), and doctrinal (reliance on God, seeking intercession). Underrepresented dimensions: Experiential (mystical experiences), narrative (mythological stories), and social (religious institutions).<br>“Pāyetakht3” utilizes mechanisms of stereotyping and naturalization to represent a uniform and standardized model of religiosity aligned with the dominant religious discourse. This representation, while ignoring the diversity of religious experiences, reinforces specific norms whose social consequences include homogenizing religious interpretations and marginalizing diverse patterns. Although the series belongs to the social-family and humorous genre, findings indicate that it also represents religious messages: 1) negative consequences of bad actions, 2) positive outcomes of good deeds, and 3) The series implies the existence of a divine power governing worldly affairs and portrays stereotypical religious scenarios. In the analyzed series, most religious messaging falls within the doctrinal-ideological, ethical-jurisprudential, and ritual dimensions of religiosity. https://www.jccs.ir/article_221160_69182af0a0142d90666385ad3e5fccb8.pdf