Introductory elements in religious discourse

Abstract
Rhetorical discourse is an attractive research area because it has infinite material resources and
it requires, among others, knowledge of general linguistics, stylistics and pragmatics. Rhetoric has
been and continues to be in relation to linguists, an area that has given many researchers: Cicero,
Quintilian, Vasile Florescu and Daniela Roventa-Frumuani. In the field of religious discourse very
little was written. However, there are some important works that deserve to be mentioned: the books
written by John Toader, and Sorin Guias articles.
From rhetorical aspects that characterize contemporary Romanian religious speech, I followed
and explained various argumentative strategies used by the speaker in his speech. For this purpose
we have took into consideration texts from Romanian eloquence. We identified common elements of
religious discourse, similarities mainly arising from the use of dogmatic aspects and specific
strategies. However, speech performance varies according to the communicative situation and the
nature of audience. I will highlight in this article the specific elements of religious discourse.

Elemente introductive n retorica discursului religios

Cuvntrile religioase reflect realitile culturale, sociale, economice i politice ale poporului
romn. Predicatorii i-au structurat cuvntrile pentru mplinirea scopului religios moral, dar au avut
n atenie i realitile vieii cotidiene, adaptnd discursurile n funcie de contextul de comunicare i
de natura auditoriului. n acelai timp, oratorii religioi i pregtesc auditoriul pentru a-l feri de
unele interpretri greite. Autorii urmresc i accesibilizarea informaiei. Multe cuvntri conin
comentarii de explicitare i de sistematizare a materialului expus. Se renun deseori la demersurile
expozitive, instituindu-se dialogul. n majoritatea cuvntrilor, oratorii anticipeaz eventualele
obiecii ale auditoriului, dezvolt dialoguri imaginare, rspund sobru, urmrind adeziunea din partea
acestuia, adresnd credincioilor invitaia de a fi coparticipani la discurs. Se apeleaz, pe lng
argumente de natur teologic (scripturistice i patristice) i la expresii populare romneti, la o serie
de pilde i de istoriare, toate acestea urmrind accesibilizarea noiunilor discutate, transpunerea n
viaa cotidian a nvturilor religioase dezbtute.