“God's Line Is Never Busy”: An Analysis of Symbolic Discourse in Two Southern Appalachian Denominations

Because of the importance of symbolism in religion, this study analyzes language use and storytelling in congregations of two religious denominations — Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) and the Southern Baptist Convention — in Southern Appalachia. Interest centers upon recurrent themes, stories,...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Zimmermann, Stephanie (Author) ; Seibert, Joy Hart (Author) ; Billings, Dwight B. (Author) ; Hougland, James G. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: [publisher not identified] 1990
In: Sociological analysis
Year: 1990, Volume: 51, Issue: 3, Pages: 297-306
Online Access: Volltext (JSTOR)
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Summary:Because of the importance of symbolism in religion, this study analyzes language use and storytelling in congregations of two religious denominations — Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) and the Southern Baptist Convention — in Southern Appalachia. Interest centers upon recurrent themes, stories, and metaphors in church leader talk. Attention is given to the role such language plays in symbolizing organizational values. While study findings show many similarities between the two denominations, fundamental differences in church values are illustrated through both qualitative and quantitative methods. This study emphasizes the importance of stories and metaphors in understanding religious life and the usefulness of discourse analysis in research on religious organizations.
ISSN:2325-7873
Contains:Enthalten in: Sociological analysis
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.2307/3711180