Examining and Establishing Impact: ‘The Role of ‘Pentecostalism’ in the Social Reproduction of Structural Violence

• In Event: 341 - Section on Sociology of Religion Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 05. Religion and "Deviance"

Abstract

This study examines the role Evangelical/ Pentecostal discourse plays in shaping the framing of experience and social problems. However, rather than assuming the impact of religious discourse on church members’ understanding of social problems, I problematize the impact of religious discourse. Through the use of the Methodology of True (Reflexive) Praxis, I demonstrate that although there might be textual parallels between church leadership and layperson, the impact, implications and meanings of that text——given the complexities of lived experience, varying social context and the research process itself—can be quite disparate. In so doing, I show that that discourse analysis must draw upon methodological approaches that emphasize the interactive and intertextual dynamics of interview exchanges. This allows researchers to more effectively understand the role (of that discourse as well as its cultural logic in shaping the framing of experience and the cultural construction of social problems.

Author

• Douglas Avella-Castro, University of Washington