{"id":{"repo_id":"sbts","oai_identifier":"oai:repository.sbts.edu:10392/5975"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/sbts/oai:repository.sbts.edu:10392/5975","repository":{"repo_id":"sbts","name":"Southern Baptist Theological Seminary","base_url":"https://repository.sbts.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Secular Students’ Perceptions of Christian Rhetoric: A Phenomenological Study","abstract":"Generation Z is the most spiritually detached generation in United States history with twice as many self-identified atheists as all other generations combined. These facts mandate a serious examination of how Christians use the classical rhetorical elements revealed in the biblical metanarrative or, more succinctly, Christian rhetoric, to persuade his or her fellow man of the truth and beauty of the gospel. Although an abundance of literature devoted to the rise of secularism in the United States exists, there is minimal research dedicated to how Generation Z secularists perceive Christian rhetoric. Thus, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how secular, Gen Z, college students have experienced the phenomenon of Christian rhetoric. In an effort to increase understanding of participants’ experiences with the phenomenon, open-ended questions were used and results were interpreted to shape Christian rhetorical praxis. Based on participant perceptions, the study found Christian rhetoricians lacked intellectual vulnerability as well as empathetic imagination and routinely failed to engage in steeped embodied discourse.","abstract_html":"Generation Z is the most spiritually detached generation in United States history with twice as many self-identified atheists as all other generations combined. These facts mandate a serious examination of how Christians use the classical rhetorical elements revealed in the biblical metanarrative or, more succinctly, Christian rhetoric, to persuade his or her fellow man of the truth and beauty of the gospel. Although an abundance of literature devoted to the rise of secularism in the United States exists, there is minimal research dedicated to how Generation Z secularists perceive Christian rhetoric. Thus, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how secular, Gen Z, college students have experienced the phenomenon of Christian rhetoric. In an effort to increase understanding of participants’ experiences with the phenomenon, open-ended questions were used and results were interpreted to shape Christian rhetorical praxis. Based on participant perceptions, the study found Christian rhetoricians lacked intellectual vulnerability as well as empathetic imagination and routinely failed to engage in steeped embodied discourse.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sierra, Lauren K."],"institution":"Southern Baptist Theological Seminary","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Parker, Shane W.","Wilder, Michael S."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-11-01","date_published":"2019-11-01","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:04:50Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10392/5975","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Parker, Shane W.","Wilder, Michael S."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Sierra, Lauren K."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2019-11-20T19:03:57Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-11-20T19:03:57Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2019-11-01"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["School of Missions and Evangelism"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["Southern Baptist Theological Seminary"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Electronic dissertation","Text"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["Ed.D."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10392/5975"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Generation Z is the most spiritually detached generation in United States history with twice as many self-identified atheists as all other generations combined. These facts mandate a serious examination of how Christians use the classical rhetorical elements revealed in the biblical metanarrative or, more succinctly, Christian rhetoric, to persuade his or her fellow man of the truth and beauty of the gospel. Although an abundance of literature devoted to the rise of secularism in the United States exists, there is minimal research dedicated to how Generation Z secularists perceive Christian rhetoric. Thus, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how secular, Gen Z, college students have experienced the phenomenon of Christian rhetoric. In an effort to increase understanding of participants’ experiences with the phenomenon, open-ended questions were used and results were interpreted to shape Christian rhetorical praxis. Based on participant perceptions, the study found Christian rhetoricians lacked intellectual vulnerability as well as empathetic imagination and routinely failed to engage in steeped embodied discourse."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Secular Students’ Perceptions of Christian Rhetoric: A Phenomenological Study"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Parker, Shane W.","Wilder, Michael S."],"dc:creator":["Sierra, Lauren K."],"dc:date.accessioned":["2019-11-20T19:03:57Z"],"dc:date.available":["2019-11-20T19:03:57Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2019-11-01"],"dc:description.abstract":["Generation Z is the most spiritually detached generation in United States history with twice as many self-identified atheists as all other generations combined. These facts mandate a serious examination of how Christians use the classical rhetorical elements revealed in the biblical metanarrative or, more succinctly, Christian rhetoric, to persuade his or her fellow man of the truth and beauty of the gospel. Although an abundance of literature devoted to the rise of secularism in the United States exists, there is minimal research dedicated to how Generation Z secularists perceive Christian rhetoric. Thus, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how secular, Gen Z, college students have experienced the phenomenon of Christian rhetoric. In an effort to increase understanding of participants’ experiences with the phenomenon, open-ended questions were used and results were interpreted to shape Christian rhetorical praxis. Based on participant perceptions, the study found Christian rhetoricians lacked intellectual vulnerability as well as empathetic imagination and routinely failed to engage in steeped embodied discourse."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10392/5975"],"dc:publisher.department":["School of Missions and Evangelism"],"dc:publisher.institution":["Southern Baptist Theological Seminary"],"dc:title":["Secular Students’ Perceptions of Christian Rhetoric: A Phenomenological Study"],"dc:type":["Electronic dissertation","Text"],"dc:type.qualificationname":["Ed.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:04:50Z"}