A study of the use of persuasive strategies in Religious Oratory

Abstract

This paper aims at identifying the persuasive strategies that religious orators use to persuade their audience and win huge following. Language is not an innocent and objective tool for communicating meaning. Language is also used for persuading, dissuading, manipulating others, and forming various ideologies of power and politics.  Various users of language, such as, politicians, advocates, business professionals, and religious preachers, gain immense power, influence and wealth by using language strategically. Religious oratory of the orators like Ashram and such other godmen as Nirmal Baba, Baba Jaigurudev, Shri Ravishankar, etc.,  in India have been found capable of winning a huge number of followers, who do not hesitate in accepting these religious orators as incarnation of God. The power of these orators lies not only in forging acceptable religious ideologies but also in strategic use of paralinguistic strategies such as pitch, pause, and pace in their oratory. In addition to this, like politicians, they use certain sociodrama to attract and grasp public attention.