Some more writing - Blog 25

Here is a redrafted version of my introduction. I played with this a long time to get across the things I needed to, but I am still unsure how the overall flow is working, or if this is an important factor.

Introduction

Almost everyone can describe an experience they have had when a conversation about religion came up unexpectedly. One of the most common ways this experience is characterized is awkward. What makes this situation so awkward? Are these conversations doomed to be forever labeled as such, or can something be done to help them be natural? To discover these answers, I chose to research the causes of awkwardness in religious conversations and make an effort to develop guidelines which could help these conversations function more naturally and effectively. Specifically, I hoped to find that phrasing and word choice play a part in how natural a religious conversation feels to the recipient.

For the purposes of this paper, a religious conversation is any which is directed by the believer of a religion and focuses on the topic of religion. Because Christianity is the faith I am most familiar with, I found it easiest to reference Christian-based religious discourse in my research. Most commonly, awkward religious conversations are those involving proselytization, or what a Christian might calling sharing one’s faith. Although coercion and insensitivity are frequently topics which arise when discussing this topic, for the success of my paper it was necessary to limit my focus strictly to awkwardness. However, as will be disclosed, those guidelines which guide an unawkward conversation are by nature those which guide one of respect and sensitivity.

For my purposes, awkwardness is considered to be the feeling of tension one has in a situation of discomfort. It is an internal feeling usually developed in a social context when something unpleasant or unexpected happens. Awkwardness is a problem for people because it not only creates temporary discomfort, but also makes them less likely to enter into that type of situation again. I believe that awkwardness in religious conversations is not necessary and can be avoided by following particular guidelines and by developing greater sensitivity to the comfort level of one’s conversation partner.

Although plenty of Christian literature considers the “how to’s” of sharing one’s faith, little is said about the topic of awkwardness. Few consider the perspective of the recipient, including any discussion of their comfort level. Phrasing and diction, as far as I could find, are left out entirely as possible factors. The methods of writing studies, especially that of discourse analysis, are particularly useful for this field of study. It is important to contribute a discussion of discourse into that of religious conversation because it is so much a part of how these conversations function. The success, sensitivity, and comfort level of these conversations will hinge on many factors. It is necessary to consider language features specifically play a role so that we can consider specific moves to avoid when aiming for a natural religious conversation.