Goals and Information Behavior in Religious Sermons

This study utilized Steven R. Wilson’s (1999) cognitive rules model to analyze persuasion goals in American religious sermons that address obligation situations as well as the information used to support these goals. We coded a purposive sample of thirty sermons that were given in 2013 and 2014, gathered from an extensive sermon database, for evidence of goals and information use. Qualitative content analysis of these sermons revealed rich descriptions of several types of pastors based on their use of persuasion goals in addressing each topic. Analysis supports the claim that the activation of a goal likely occurs after the selection of sermon topic and is strongly affected by that topic. Analysis also found that the Bible was used as an information source in a larger number of sermons than other sources but accounted for a smaller percentage of the total sermon text, possibly an indication that the Bible needs less explanation, as it represents a shared information source that congregants are expected to know already. Freeburg and Roland: Goals and Information Behavior in Religious Sermons 3 The religious sermon in the United States is a means of persuasion and information dissemination. This two-sided goal is noted by Chapell (2005), who argued that the pastor’s role in spiritual persuasion is (1) to maintain a powerful ethos—or personal character—to advance the persuasive power of the sermon as a rhetorical act and (2) to relay biblical information that is inherently persuasive. Many scholars agree that the role of the sermon is primarily to persuade (Carrell 2009; Cunningham 1991). However, many individuals in religious circles prefer the word transformation to avoid the negative connotations that are associated with the word persuasion (Carrell 2009). Cunningham (1991) argued that theology is inherently partisan and therefore its goal is always to persuade. The sermon also disseminates a wide array of information from the Bible and many other sources. Buchko, Buchko, and Meyer (2012: 690) argue that the sermon is a pastor’s “opportunity to present information to the congregants that [is] seen as vital to their spiritual growth and development. ” Several studies have emphasized the importance of pastors in relaying health information (e.g., Campbell et al. 2007; Stewart 2012). Campbell and colleagues (2007) found that the success of church-based health promotion was helped in large part by a pastor supporting it with information in a sermon. Stewart (2012) noted that for African-American communities, pastors were important sources of information in the understanding of HIV support. In this study, we seek to provide a deeper understanding of both the persuasive and informative functions of religious sermons. Given the importance of the religious sermon as a communication medium and the diversity of information that is embedded within it, the religious sermon represents a phenomenon that is uniquely situated for analysis of the combination of communication and information behavior. Even conservative estimates indicate that approximately 25 percent of Americans attend church weekly (Brenner 2011). Therefore an analysis of the persuasive goals of these sermons can provide insights into the information that a large number of Americans consume every week. THE SERMON AS QUASI-INTERPERSONAL In this study, we utilized Steven R. Wilson’s (1990) model of interaction goals. Although this model is one of interpersonal dyads, it is applicable to the current research on sermons given by pastors. Berger (2005) argues that researchers must expand their definition of the term interpersonal communication. Ackerson and Viswa-nath (2009) point out that this type of communication occurs in a variety of realms, from dyads to entire organizations. Pastors interact with congregants at least every Sunday and usually during the week as well. Thus although the sermon is an example of public discourse, it is much more than that. It involves the people, relationships, prior events, and feedback that are present in interpersonal 4 Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion Vol. 11 (2015), Article 4 communication. Sometimes the feedback from a congregation is immediate, such as the shouting of “Amen! ” or “Praise God! ” Sometimes it occurs after the sermon, in more intimate settings. Either way, the sermon itself is a response to the congregation and must take into account feedback and relationships. According to Cappella (1987: 189), “all encounters that are interactions are interpersonal. ” Therefore the sermon can be analyzed as an interpersonal phenomenon as it relates to this interactivity that is inherent in sermon content. Because of its unique identity as public discourse with interactive components, we refer to the sermon as quasi-interpersonal. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE