THE DISCURSIVE MECHANISMS IN THE PREACHING OF THREE LATIN AMERICAN EVANGELICAL PASTORS

Abstract

Evangelical Christian associations employ various resources to attract and maintain followers. This is achieved by the convincing way in which religious leaders deliver messages which contain diverse discursive strategies, worthy of recognition, in relation to understanding their structure, process, and domain. This article aimed to identify the discursive mechanisms in the communication process that three pastors of evangelical churches in Latin America, recognized for their popularity in the Christian world, such as Rodolfo González, Cash Luna, and Guillermo Maldonado, utilize in the elaboration of their speeches to persuade congregants. A qualitative approach was used with an ethnographic research design and a pragmatic analysis of the contents immersed in the preaching of the aforementioned pastors. The results show the presence of a series of discursive resources in his sermons, such as pronouns or forms of treatment, reiteration, authority arguments, authority quotes, and exemplification, as the most frequent.