“Sain Jumala lapseks ...“ Usulise pöördumise diskursus kogudusega liitunute kogemusjutustustes
“I became a child of God.” Conversion Discourse in the Experience-Based Narratives of Converts Who Have Joined the Church

Summary/Abstract: The current paper introduces the results of a study that aimed to detect the influences of a confessional discourse in the conversion narratives of converts who had joined different Estonian Christian congregations. Discourse analysis of 60 in-depth interviews was carried on to identify rhetorical elements and patterns that are characteristic of the understanding of the nature of religious conversion in a particular Church. Results showed that the elements of the confessional discourse were most visible in the narratives of the members of Evangelical, Charismatic and Free Churches (including Seventh Day Adventist, Baptist, Pentecostal, 3D and Vineyard Churches). They were significantly less visible in the case of Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Methodist Church members. The most variable were the narratives of Lutherans, among whom no recognizable common confessional pattern of conversion narrative was established.

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