On the Construction of Religious Texts: The Case of Writing a Catechism

T.T.J. Pleizier, A. Huijgen, R.T. te Velde

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    Abstract

    Religious texts represent a specific rhetorical genre. What does it mean to construct these texts? In order to answer this question we reflect
    upon our experience of co-authoring a religious text, the *Ordinary
    Catechism* (*Gewone Catechismus*), published in 2019. The findings
    include insights in collaborative spirituality, a dynamic interaction with
    tradition, and various levels of abstraction in theologizing. Further,
    we analyze these findings by using genre theory. It is concluded that religious texts are responses to a rhetorical situation; they are part of genre repertoires that religious communities use to express and to experience the Christian faith.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)355-373
    Number of pages17
    JournalNTT Journal for Theology and the Study of Religion
    Volume74
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Dec 2020

    Keywords

    • auto-ethnography; catechism; collaborative authorship; genre theory; religious texts; spirituality

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