The Use of Persuasive Language in Christian Fundraising: Coercion or Motivation?
Juliet Oppong-Asare Ansah
Osei Yaw Akoto Richard Ansah
Issue: Vol.1 No.8 December 2020 Article 1 pp. 248 – 262
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2020121 | Published online 14th December 2020.
© 2020 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This paper is an expose on how fundraisers in some churches in Ghana use persuasive language, also referred to as ‘loaded words’ on their congregation to stir up their emotions to adhere to their demands and succumb to their instructions and directions. It specifically recounts persuasive expressions or utterances used by personalities who solicit funds from the congregation during fundraising ceremonies and discusses the effectiveness of these expressions. It also presents the perception and reaction of church members on how their thoughts, feelings or behavior are influenced by the astute words of fundraisers. Using a qualitative research approach, five recorded audios are selected, transcribed and codified for textual analysis. Sections of the churches visited were engaged in interactions to inquire about their perception of these modes of fundraising. The findings indicated that most fundraisers who solicit funds for the churches in question are imported, thus, they perform the assigned task to meet the churches’ needs and to also boost their remuneration. It also indicated, based on church members interviewed, that the strategies they use in fundraising, to some extent, are effective tools to sway the congregation to give their monies out when they are still faced with personal challenges. This paper contributes to research knowledge on some less explored areas such as persuasion in the context of fundraising in the Christian mission.
Keywords: Fundraising, Christianity, Persuasion, Appeal, Motivation
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Juliet Oppong-Asare Ansah is a Lecturer in the Department of Language and Communication Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. She holds Bachelor of Education in Psychology and Master of Philosophy in Ghanaian Language (both from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana). Currently, she is a PhD candidate in Linguistics at the University of Ghana, Accra-Ghana. She teaches Semantics, Aesthetics of Oral Literature, Translation, Creative Writing, Pragmatics and Akan Written Expression. Her research is focused on Ethnographic Linguistics, Diachronic Studies, Semantics and its interfaces, Language Contact and Translation Studies.
Osei Yaw Akoto (PhD) is a Lecturer in the Department of English, Faculty of Social Sciences, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. He holds a BA (Hons) in English Language and Philosophy; MPhil and PhD in English Language, all from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. He teaches English for Academic Purposes, Sociolinguistics, Discourse Studies and Error Analysis. His research is focused on Linguistic Landscape, Onomastics, Corpus Linguistics and Academic Discourse.
Reverend Richard Ansah (PhD) is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Classics and Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, College of Humanities and Legal Studies, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. He hold a BA (Hons) in Philosophy and History, M.Phil. in Philosophy, both in the University of Cape Coast, Ghana and PhD in Philosophy from the University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa. He also holds a Diploma in Theology from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, Saltpond, Ghana. His research is focused on Logic, Critical Thinking, Philosophy of Language and Philosophy of mind.
Ansah O.J., Akoto O.A., Ansah R.,”The Use of Persuasive Language in Christian Fundraising: Coercion or Motivation?,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 1, no.8 (2020): 248-262. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2020121
© 2020 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Publishers. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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