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Conversion narratives and construction of identityamong Christians in Malaysia

FRANCISCO PERLAS DUMANIG, MAYA KHEMLANI DAVID

and CEASAR DEALWIS

Abstract

Conversion narratives in the form of testimony are powerful means ofconsolidating and strengthening ones new religious identity (Beit-Hal-lahmi 1989; Rambo 1993; Stromberg 1993, as cited in Emmons & Pal-outzian 2003). Using conversion narratives is common among Christiansin testifying how they came to know Christ. The testimony usually

presents two distinct identities of the speaker: before and after acceptingChrist as Lord and savior. These two distinct identities are examined inthis paper to see how speakers construct themselves in the form of testi-mony. This paper specifically analyzes the moves and lexical choices

used in the narratives. To carry out the study, 15 recorded conversionnarratives were used.

Keywords: conversion narratives; identity; religion, testimony; moves;lexical choices

1. Introduction

1.1 Background

Conversion narratives are common among Christians to testify thegoodness of God and to share how they experience the presence ofGod in their lives. Such narratives are referred to as testimony andare shared during services and special church gatherings so as to dem-onstrate to parishioners and church newcomers that God is almighty.A conversion narrative is in fact a short story or a summary of a per-sons personal experience with Gods goodness and is a powerfulmeans of consolidating and strengthening ones new religious identity(Beit-Hallahmi 1989; Rambo 1993; Stromberg 1993, as cited in Em-

mons & Paloutzian 2003). The narratives usually present two aspectsof life: a life before conversion and a new life after conversion.

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320 Francisco P. Dumanig, Maya K. David and Ceasar Dealwis

The constant recurrence of discourse features in the narratives isseen to represent similar patterns of thoughts and ways of giving testi-mony reflecting religious norms. These repeated elements are evidentacross a range of linguistic units such as patterns of linguistic moves inthe discourse structure and patterns of choice in the use of specificterminology. A pattern of moves, which governs the overall testimonythat reflects evidence of a shared set of religious practices among thenewly converts, is noted in the narratives.

This article discusses in detail the key approaches that have beentaken in the analysis of moves within the conversion narratives. Build-ing on the notion of shared communicative purposes, Swales suggestsrhetorical movement analysis or move and step analysis (1990: 140)as the basis for defining a genre. The conversion narrative usually fol-

lows three simple steps in presenting the message. Its content is ar-ranged in conventional order such as before, how, and after of theconversion.

The presentation of a life before the conversion serves as the initialstage of the narrative which provides the audience background knowl-edge about the speakers life prior to his or her conversion. It mayanswer some questions such as What kind of life did you have beforeknowing Christ?, What were the key issues and problems you dealtwith prior to your acceptance?, and What was the motivation in ac-

cepting Christ as Lord and savior?On the other hand, the how of the conversion narrative is presentedby explaining the process of conversion. Questions such as How wereyou converted? and What circumstances in life motivated you to beconverted? are emphasized.

Lastly, the narrative also includes life after the conversion. Thismeans that the speaker may present his or her life after receiving andaccepting Christ as his or her Lord and savior. It answers questionssuch as What difference did you experience after accepting Christ?and What were the changes that took place in your life after the con-

version?Such a pattern of presenting the conversion narrative may vary de-

pending on the intention of the speaker. However, the majority of con-version narratives follow a pattern of presentation before, how, andafter of the conversion. The discourse in the narrative reflects the twocontrasting identities of the speaker. The lifestyle that is not acceptableaccording to Christian values is presented first, followed by the processof conversion and finally the impact of conversion, which aligns andconforms with the values of a particular Christian religious group.

The two contrasting identities of the speaker are presented differ-ently. Apart from the personal identity, the speaker projects an identity

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Conversion narratives and construction of identity 321

that represents the entire group. Coulmas (2005) and Holmes (2008)explain that the identity of a person can be reflected through his or herlinguistic choices. As a person speaks, he or she reveals who he or sheis. Thomas, Wareing & Singh (2004) believe that a speakers choice ofwords is one of the features that display her/his individual or groupidentity. It is clear from the conversion narratives that language notonly conveys messages or information but also functions as an agent indisplaying a speakers identity.

Displaying ones identity can be individually or institutionally con-structed and is revealed through a speakers use of language. Identityis not only constructed individually by speakers through names, namingpractices, and rituals but is also constructed as group identity represen-tation (Thomas et al. 2004; Holmes 2008).

Identity involves many things that could be described as a semioticprocess of representation, including symbols, narratives, and textualgenres (Blommaert 2005). According to Blommaert (2005), who andwhat one is depends on the context, occasion, and purpose. The dailyrituals that involve the use of language happen in the way people inter-act, dress, act, write, and project themselves to others, etc., and all thesecan be considered as identity rituals.

Identity has to be enacted and performed in order to be sociallysalient (Blommaert 2005). This means that in order to establish an

identity, it has to be recognized first by others. As a result, people tendto label themselves and others as friendly, kind, helpful, etc. However,it must be noted that identity, whether on an individual, social, or insti-tutional level, is something that we are constantly constructing and ne-gotiating throughout our lives through our interaction with others(Thornborrow 2004). Speakers may possibly create multiple identitiesin one speech event because every speaker is concerned with how oth-ers may perceive them (Goffman 2007). The emphasis on identities isactively produced through deliberate, strategic manipulation or out-of-

awareness practices (Kroskrity 2000).One important aspect in studying the construction of identity is a

speakers speech community, which contributes toward establishing aspeakers identity. It becomes recognizable through a speakers use oflexical items and manner of speaking. The concept of speech commu-nity is described as the shared dimension related to the ways in whichmembers of the group use, value, or interpret language (Saville-Troike2003). Therefore, group and individual identity could be establishedwithin the speech community membership of a speaker. Such identity

construction from being bad to being good may reflect the core val-ues emphasized by the church.

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Such a type of discourse pattern has motivated the researchers toexamine how Christians in Malaysia present themselves in the conver-sion narratives, since most of them initially came from different reli-gious backgrounds. Discussing their past lives i.e., lives prior to theirconversion, appears to be a sensitive issue because of their previousreligious beliefs and practices.

The focus of this research is to analyze the conversion narratives ofChristians, and it specifically examines the moves in the conversionnarratives which contribute in the construction of two contrasting iden-tities, i.e., the identities presented before and after their conversions.Identity construction is analyzed based on the linguistic features foundin the conversion narratives.

1.2 Identity theory of religion

The identity theory of religion was introduced by Joannan J. (Hans)Mol, a Canadian professor who synthesized and adapted the theory toanalyze religious identity (Thapa 2004). Many studies on religious iden-tity have been conducted using such a theoretical framework. Thetheory was further refined by Mol when a study on religious identitywas conducted among Muslims in non-Muslim societies. The theoryhas been adapted and introduced as a good model to use to analyze

individuals, society, and behavior. It argues that religion represents cer-tain interactions between personal, social, and group identity whichmaintain the social order (Gopalan 1978, as cited in Thapa 2004). Thetheory further argues that the religious behavior of believers of a par-ticular faith is embedded in their social behavior. This means that theirbehavior reflects their religious affiliations. In short, there is a tendencyfor people to move towards spirituality and spirituality leads to person,group, or societal identity. This may occur in many countries wheredominant religions have influenced peoples cultural values and even

their government policies.Mol (1979) examined the concept of identity through the perspective

of the sociology of religion, where he defined religion as the sanctifica-tion of self-identity which helps in transforming ones personality. Thetheory emphasizes four basic conceptual bases: objectification, commit-ment, ritual, and myth. Thapa (2004: 10) explains that objectificationrefers to the order into beyond where it is less vulnerable to contradic-tions, exceptions, and contingencies. Commitment is the emotional an-chorage in various proliferating foci of identity. Ritual is the action,

articulation, and movements that keeps sanctified objects from beinglost and contributes to maintaining sameness and continuity of reli-

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gious tenets that helps to maintain identity. Myth is an integration ofthe various strains in a coherent and shorthand symbolic account.

The identity theory of religion is used as a theoretical framework inthis study to examine the identity constructed by the speakers in theirconversion narratives as Christians.

2. Methodology

This study analyzed 15 recorded conversion narratives delivered in 15Sunday services and other church gatherings in one of the Christianchurches in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The narratives recorded werecarefully selected and only include those that tell the story of theirconversions. Other testimonies that did not discuss the speakers con-

versions were not included in the study. The participants were awarethat their narratives were being recorded, and permission to record thetestimony was given by the participants and by the church. The conver-sion narratives were recorded from January to May 2010. Over fivemonths, three conversion narratives were recorded in each month.

The speakers ages ranged from those in their teens to those experi-encing late adulthood. Each conversion narrative was delivered for atleast five minutes. The narratives were recorded and transcribed. Thetranscribed data were analyzed by examining the rhetorical moves and

the linguistic features of the narratives. The lexical choices and thespeech acts were taken into consideration to closely examine how thetwo contrasting identities were operationalized during the presentationof the narratives.

Findings

The conversion narratives genre

From the conversion narratives collected, a pattern of discourse in pre-

senting their testimonies has been observed. It can be said that conver-sion narratives have their own generic structure and features, whichmay possibly differ from one culture to another.

In the conversion narratives the following moves are observed whennarrating lives prior to the conversion, during the conversion, and afterthe conversion. There are six (6) moves found in the data. These are:

Move 1: introduction; Move 2: life before conversion;

Move 3: process of conversion;

Move 4: challenges after conversion;

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Move 5: differences after conversion; and Move 6: concluding statement.

The first move is an introduction of the narrative which provides briefinformation about the person giving the testimony, and sometimes afew verses from the Bible related to the topic of the testimony areprovided. The introduction provides the listener with a general over-view of the testimony, particularly the speakers personal life beforeconversion. Citing verses from the Bible is also evident because theyreflect the previous life of the speaker (see example 1):

(1)

I am I am working in . I came from a family who do not believe and worship our God. I would like to share a passage from the Bible . John 3:16 says .

The second move describes the speakers life before conversion. It ex-plains the way of life before knowing Christ as the savior. ContrastingChristian values are usually portrayed by the speaker to show the con-trast in life before and after conversion. It is evident that speakers havesomething in common when describing their past lives. They portray alife that is ungodly, self-centered, and has no right direction. A worldlylifestyle is always foregrounded, presenting the bad side of life (seeexample 2):

(2)

Before I became a Christian I had no direction in life. I used to be self-centered and I didnt care for others. In the past, I drank, smoke, and had a different focus in life.

In move 3, the process of conversion is presented. This is to inform theaudience how the speaker is converted to Christianity. The process ofconversion is somewhat complex because it describes how the changetakes place. This move seems to be the highlight of the narrative be-cause of the transition from being bad to good is clearly emphasized(see example 3):

(3)

I was touched by the Holy Spirit when I continually attended thechurch service and activities.

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The lives of other church members made me realize that God reallyexists.

My life was changed when I started reading the Bible.

In move 4, some challenges in lives after the conversion are described.Usually, a period of adjustment from being a non-Christian to a Chris-tian life style is portrayed. Some spiritual struggles and how they wereovercome are presented. This part is crucial because the speakers dem-onstrate how they overcome their respective trials and challenges (seeexample 4):

(4)

Christianity does not mean a perfect life.

When I became a Christian my faith was tested where I encounteredsome trials and challenges in life.

After receiving Christ, I realized that God would sometimes meas-ure how deep is our faith by exposing us to different challengingsituations.

Move 5 shows speakers different life styles after the conversion. Usu-ally, a more Christian-centered life is portrayed. This is in stark contrastto the lifestyle presented in move 2. Speakers describe the effects ofthe Christian faith after overcoming their challenges and trials (seeexample 5):

(5)

I was totally changed from a bad person to a good one. After knowing Christ as my savior I began to personally experience

the presence of God in me. Now I have seen the fruit of the Holy Spirit in me and with my

family.

The last move, move 6, wraps up the entire narrative. A concludingstatement is provided which encourages the listeners or church mem-bers to be continually faithful to God. A short statement or a fewverses from the Bible are sometimes quoted in this move (see example6):

(6)

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ God is really good . To end my testimony, I would like to quote a passage from the

Bible . Before I end my testimony, let me read the poem I created .

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Identity before conversionIt is evident that two contrasting identities are portrayed in the conver-sion narratives: the bad side of life before the conversion and a moreChristian-centered life after conversion. The identity of the speakers ispresented in a way that conforms to the social practices of certain val-ues upheld and practiced by the church. It seems that a community ofpractice among members of the church is being observed. In the narra-tives collected prior to conversion, some linguistic features are notedwhich reflect the Christian community of practice.

1. The use of adjectives, nouns, and verbs to depict an unchristian life

It is evident from the narratives that most Christians use adjectives,nouns, and verbs that describe their lives before conversion. They usu-ally label themselves as not religious, sinners, unbelievers, not saved,a person who does not know Christ, and worldly.

Christians describe themselves as not religious prior to their con-version. Such a description creates an identity that is not church orprayer oriented. In the conversion narratives recorded this is notedwhen the following statements were made: That time I did not see theimportance of religion and I did not have any idea how to pray. Suchstatements indicate that daily prayer had no role before conversion and

that religion had not been given much importance in their lives.Being a sinner is also reflected in the lives of Christians before their

conversion. This means that before their conversion they projected animage of themselves as people who lived in sin. This is evident in theirconversion narratives as they said I kept sinning, I was disrespectfuleven to the elders and to the pastor, and I smoked in front of thepeople and the pastor. Such self portrayals project shifting identitiesbefore and after conversion.

Christians consider their lives prior to their conversion as unbeliev-

ers. Such descriptions about themselves may refer to a person whodoes not accept Christ as his/her Lord and savior. In addition, suchdescriptions portray a person who does not accept the Bible as theword of God. The categorization as unbeliever suggests a person whodoes not practice the Christian values. They are also described as notsaved and worldly prior to their conversion because they prioritizedworldly achievements rather than their spiritual being. A Christian lifeis entirely opposite to a worldly kind of life due to their belief thatGod should always be the center of everything.

The following adjectives and verbs describe the identity of the speak-ers prior to their conversion:

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(7)

I am an unbeliever. I was disrespectful even to the elders and to the pastor.

I smoked in front of the people and the pastor.

Before, I kept sinning.

Our data shows, that such adjectives, nouns, and verbs are vehiclesthrough which speakers assert and negotiate their unchristian identity.

2. The use of pronouns I, we, and you to show responsibility

In the narratives, speakers use the pronouns I, we, and you to rep-resent clearly their lives before the conversion. The use of such pro-nouns can be interpreted as a way of placing personal responsibilityfor everything that the person has done.

The use of we and you could be a form of interpellation wherethe speaker tries to get the audience involved and to make the audi-ence aware of their responsibilities as Christians. The message dissemi-nated is that every member of the church has social and communalresponsibilities. The speaker portrays an identity that every person hasresponsibilities not only to themselves but to the other church membersas well. The development of their Christian well-being is not only an

individual effort but is also a communal effort (see example 8):

(8)

I am encouraged to read the Bible at all times. I became more prayerful. We must keep our eyes to God. You and I are accountable to God for what we have done.

The use of pronouns signals that acts after conversion are seen by the

speakers as their personal responsibility.

Identity after conversion: A new identityAfter the conversion, Christians project a new identity that conformsto Christian values. As believers they tend to prioritize their Christianlives. They project an image that is different from their lives prior tothe conversion. The identities created are evident through the lexicalchoices in their narratives when they say; I was totally changed froma bad person to a good one, after knowing Christ as my savior I began

to personally experience the presence of God in me, and now I haveseen the fruit of the Holy Spirit in me and with my family.

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They tend to describe themselves as religious, prayerful, blessed,and saved. They usually present a religious life which is faithful toGod. Such faithfulness is evident in their narratives when they say, Asa Christian I realized that being good is not a choice but a manifesta-tion of Gods grace and I find my real purpose on earth and it isthrough Christ that I felt the joy in my heart. Consequently, they be-come more prayerful and religious. These Christian identities are evi-dent when they say, I became more prayerful and I am encouragedto read the Bible at all times. The narratives shown in example (9)provide a clear description of the kind of life that speakers experiencedafter their conversion:

(9)

As a Christian I realized that being good is not a choice but a mani-festation of Gods grace.

I find my real purpose on earth and it is through Christ that I feltthe joy in my heart.

My mom is now active in church. I am encouraged to read the Bible at all times. I became more prayerful.

Since a new identity is revealed, speakers emphasize their faith through

their objectification, commitment and rituals.

1. Objectification

After the conversion, sanctification has become the common goal ofeach newly-converted Christian. Objectification of ones faith has be-come the common goal in order to project Christian values and iden-tity. Objectifying the faith through actions like trusting God and beingprayerful creates a common identity among members of the church.Such objectification is evident in the identities projected by the speak-

ers after their conversion (see example 10):

(10)

I became more prayerful. I always trust God for everything I need. I find my real purpose on earth and it is through Christ that I felt

the joy in my heart.

By saying I became more prayerful the speaker signifies his/her faith

through his/her actions and such objectification by a number of speak-ers creates one identity among church members.

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2. Commitment

Commitment is another process of sanctification that creates a Chris-tian identity. It is part of the Christian belief that for people to be a

true follower of Christ they must not focus on wordly issues and bematerialistic. This means that they must surrender themselves to God.By doing so, converted Christians may start committing themselves toChristian religious norms, thus projecting a different identity one ofbeing prayerful and active in church activities.

Commitment is evident in the conversion narratives after the speak-ers were converted to Christianity. A prayerful and Christ-centered lifeis identified after they came to know Christ. The commitment of thenewly converted Christians is evident in example (5) where the speaker

said, I was totally changed from a bad person to a good one, afterknowing Christ as my savior I began to personally experience the pres-ence of God in me and now I have seen the fruit of the Holy Spirit inme and with my family.

3. Rituals

For Christians certain rituals are observed in church. It is evident thatafter the conversion, the speakers project an identity that follows somechurch rituals. For instance, attending church services every Sundayand practicing speaking in tongues. The speakers identified in theirnarratives that after they accepted Christ they attended services everySunday and started to speak in tongues. Participating in such churchactivities represents a new identity for the speakers. Their participationin such rituals was evident in their conversion narratives when theysaid, I started to learn how to speak in tongues, I come to the churchservice regularly and my care group is just like my family.

The identities constructed by the participants after their conversionsdisclose their lives as Christians. They tend to objectify their faith

through good actions, in the footsteps of Christ and perform someChristian religious rituals such as going to church services every Sun-day.

Conclusion

The findings of the study reveal that the moves and lexical choices inthe conversion narratives of Christians create two distinct identities an identity before and one after the conversion. Before the conversion,

a non-Christian identity is presented. However, after the conversionmore positive and acceptable identities are projected. After the conver-

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sion, the aim for sanctification becomes the focus. Thus objectification,commitment and rituals are used to undergo the process of sanctifica-tion. As all the 15 conversion narratives were tape-recorded and latertranscribed, the intentions of the speakers were obtained from individ-ual narratives. Generally, the moves and lexical items are influenced bythe intent of the speakers and depicted in their conversion narratives.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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Saville-Troike, Muriel. 2003. The ethnography of communication. Oxford: BlackwellPublishing.

Swales, John. 1990. Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cam-bridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Francisco Perlas Dumanig Ph.D. is a lecturer at the Faculty of Languages and Lin-guistics, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His research interests are inlanguage teaching, language choice, cross-cultural communication, world Englishes,and discourse analysis.Address for correspondence: Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University ofMalaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.e-mail: [email protected]

Maya Khemlani David (Professor, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universityof Malaya) is an honorary fellow of the Chartered Institute of Linguists, United

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Kingdom, honorary member of the Foundation of Endangered Languages and Lin-guapax Prize Winner for 2007 and has published widely.Address for correspondence: Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University ofMalaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.e-mail: [email protected]

Ceasar Dealwis, PhD, is a senior lecturer at MARA University of Technology(UiTM), Sarawak. His research interests focus on the identity of minority groups,language choice, maintenance and shift of minority groups in East Malaysia.Address for correspondence: Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, Universiti TeknologiMARA, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia.e-mail: [email protected]

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