Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
Sociology
Date of Award
12-2017
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Joseph Baker
Committee Members
Martha Copp, Paul Kamolnick
Abstract
Using ten sermons from five prominent and politically active evangelical megachurch pastors taken from the 2016 presidential campaign season, this case study utilizes frame analysis to understand the political relevance of modern evangelical sermonizing. An inductive frame analysis allows the concept of a collective action frame to be observed as a process and for patterns to emerge from the source text. Within these sermons, ministers offer self-identifying evangelicals a vocabulary with which to understand and describe their own identity. In this context, the Bible is a powerful cultural symbol that represents an allegiance to traditions that are framed as the bedrock of American exceptionalism. The boundaries that are drawn and vociferously maintained in this sample emphasize exclusion over inclusion, especially in terms of salvation and righteousness, which can emotionally motivate action. In an election year, this sample demonstrates how evangelical identity is mobilized as an electoral force.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Moser, Tim, "The Pulpit and the People: Mobilizing Evangelical Identity" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3348. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3348
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.
Included in
American Politics Commons, Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Social Psychology and Interaction Commons, Sociology of Culture Commons, Sociology of Religion Commons