Postsecular rhetoric of the Pope: a discourse analysis of Pope Francis’ TED Talks

Pope Francis has gained a title as ‘the Pope of Surprises’ for his unprecedented and unconventional papal narratives, personal viewpoints, and equally electrifying mediatised public appearances. One of these surprises was his videotaped appearance on TED. By adopting postsecularism as a conceptual f...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Mamalipurath, Jasbeer Musthafa (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Taylor & Francis 2021
In: Church, Communication and Culture
Year: 2021, Volume: 6, Issue: 2, Pages: 250-266
IxTheo Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history
KDB Roman Catholic Church
ZG Media studies; Digital media; Communication studies
Further subjects:B Discourse Analysis
B Pope Francis
B Postsecularism
B New Media
B Catholicism
B TED Talk
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:Pope Francis has gained a title as ‘the Pope of Surprises’ for his unprecedented and unconventional papal narratives, personal viewpoints, and equally electrifying mediatised public appearances. One of these surprises was his videotaped appearance on TED. By adopting postsecularism as a conceptual framework, this study examines the dominant discursive features in Pope Francis’ TED Talks. Three main types of narrative features were found: emphasis on the postsecular solidarity between the religious and the secular, negotiating religious doctrinal engagement in public spheres, and finally, de-emphasising the papal magisterial authority. While the surface language of the Pope’s TED Talks operates in a postsecular inclusive discursive spirit, its ontological roots are nevertheless cemented in a Catholic epistemology and a faith-motivated claim for moral theology. The similarities between Christian sermons and TED’s communicative norms and practices make the Pope’s new rhetoric possible without excessive attenuation of the Catholic vocabulary.
ISSN:2375-3242
Contains:Enthalten in: Church, Communication and Culture
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/23753234.2021.1964373