When Authority Fails: Cognitive Dissonance, Storytelling, and Collective Sense-Making in Unanswered Prayers

Sebastian Schüler

Jump to Content

Chapter 26 When Authority Fails: Cognitive Dissonance, Storytelling, and Collective Sense-Making in Unanswered Prayers

In: Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, Volume 32

Author:

Sebastian Schüler

Sebastian Schüler
Search for other papers by Sebastian Schüler in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed

Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 559–589

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004505315_028

Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):

€42.00€35.00 excl. VAT

Add to Cart

Redeem Access Token

Abstract

Authority is a social attribution that raises collective expectations. These attributions also define the roles between which authority is negotiated. In Evangelicalism, authority is attributed to God above all, and especially petitionary prayer raises high expectations towards God. However, these expectations may be disappointed and thus the authority relationship may be challenged, leading to attempts to restore the authority relationship at the individual and collective levels. In the sociology of religion, the role of authority holders has too often been emphasized. This paper, therefore, focuses on the role of submitting subjects and asks about reactions when authority fails. To this end, the theory of cognitive dissonance by Leon Festinger et al. is critically discussed and extended by means of a narrative sociology perspective. This new reading of Festinger et al. is then applied to the example of unanswered prayers in the 24-7Prayer movement.

Citation Info

Save
Cite
Email this content

Share link with colleague or librarian

You can email a link to this page to a colleague or librarian:
Email this content
or copy the link directly:

https://brill.edhh.ma/abstract/book/9789004505315/BP000038.xml
The link was not copied. Your current browser may not support copying via this button.

Link copied successfully

Collapse
Expand

Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, Volume 32

Lesser Heard Voices in Studies of Religion

Series: Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, Volume: 32

Cover Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, Volume 32

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004505315

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 12 Apr 2022

Subjects
- Religious Studies
- Social Sciences
  - Religion & Society

Front Matter

Open Section

Edited by

Ralph W. Hood and Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor

Special section 1 Religion or Belief in Higher Education

Edited

by Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor

Special section 2 Cultural Blindness in Psychology

Edited by

Louise Sundararajan

Special section 3 Religious Authority in Practice in Contemporary Evangelical, Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity

Edited by

Maren Freudenberg, Martin Radermacher and Sebastian Schüler

Back Matter

Metrics

	All Time	Past 365 days	Past 30 Days
Abstract Views	927	365	153
Full Text Views	16	4	0
PDF Views & Downloads	21	4	0

African Studies	Education	Media Studies
American Studies	History	Middle East and Islamic Studies
Ancient Near East and Egypt	Human Rights and Humanitarian Law	Musicology
Art History	International Law	Philosophy
Asian Studies	International Relations	Religious Studies
Biblical Studies	Jewish Studies	Slavic and Eurasian Studies
Biology	Languages and Linguistics	Social Sciences
Book History and Cartography	Life Sciences	Theology and World Christianity
Classical Studies	Literature and Cultural Studies

Subjects

Authors

Open Access

Product Information

Company

Contact

Chapter 26 When Authority Fails: Cognitive Dissonance, Storytelling, and Collective Sense-Making in Unanswered Prayers

Abstract

Citation Info

Share link with colleague or librarian

Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, Volume 32

Lesser Heard Voices in Studies of Religion

Table of Contents

Metrics

Metrics