Preaching to the Converted
Conversion Language and the Constitution of the TV Evangelical Community
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3329437 |
|---|---|
| Authors | C Wright (0000-0001-8624-9605, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1989 |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 733-760 |
| Publication date | 1989-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Sociological Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0038-0261 • E-ISSN: 1467-954X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-954x.1989.tb00051.x |
| OpenAlex | W2050977239 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 26 |
A paradox is noted in the presentation of conversion in TV evangelism; this is that although the necessity of being converted is a common theme it is clear that the evangelists are aware that their audience is already converted. An attempt is made to resolve the paradox by showing how TV evangelists use conversion language as rhetoric to legitimate their role and the rationality of the organisation which they represent. It is further shown how this legitimation is itself made possible through another use of conversion language which creates a sense of moral community embracing evangelists, organisation and audience as copartners in the shared project of conversion. Finally, it is shown how the presentation of TV evangelism as the central ritual of a moral community generates a further conversion rhetoric which depicts the community as both exclusive of and yet open to non-members; a contradiction which is resolved through the establishment of distinctive roles within the community related to the activity of winning converts
Aesthetics · Constitution · Contradiction · Epistemology · Evangelism · Legitimation · Linguistics · Media studies · Neutrality · Political science · Politics · Presentation (obstetrics) · Rationality · Rhetoric · Rhetorical question · Sociology · Theme (computing) · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Society, and Development
American evangelicalism
The New Christian right
Fundamentalism and American Culture
Habits of the heart
Community and association
The “PTL Club” and Protestant Viewers
How Religious is Religious Television Programming
Religious Communication and Popular Piety
Studies in Social and Political Theory (RLE Social Theory)
Max Weber
A Critical Review of the Religion and Television Research Report
The Power of the Religious Media
Religious Television in Middletown
The Political Influence of Television Ministers
The Social Significance of Religious Television
Oral Roberts
The Religious Television Audience
The Elementary Forms of Religious Life
From Max Weber
New Religious Movements and Rapid Social Change
New Christian Politics
The Uses and Effects of Televangelism
Religious Broadcasting and the Mobilization of the New Christian Right
Correlates of Support for the Electronic Church
Conservative Protestantism on the American Scene
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,12 |
| Citation span | 1993 - 2019 (27) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |