Critical analysis of the Ministerio Internacional Iglesia Fuente de Agua (The Fountain of Living Waters International Church)

Abstract

This research project analyzes the linguistic structures and rhetorical strategies used in three different discourses of the Ministerio Internacional Iglesia Fuente de Agua Viva (The Fountain of Living Waters Church International) (FAV, its Spanish acronym) with the aim of identifying mechanisms that “legitimize the discourse and influence the thoughts (and, indirectly, the actions) of attendees” (van Dijk, 1993). Also, it wants to demonstrate how those strategies and structures are constantly used in the discourses of the church. The results of this analysis will enable us to detail the contextual conditions that make these religious discourses effective. This research analyzes several aspects that shape part of these discourses departing from the theoretical framework of van Dijk’s critical analysis of discourse (1993). This theoretical framework proposes that discourse is not composed solely of verbal action, but also includes meaning, understanding, and interpretation. We also examined, through participatory observation, the non-verbal elements of the context in which the discourses are generated that influence the construction of the message.