Achieving similarity: An examination of footing, second stories and preference organization in discipleship talk

Although many studies have examined religious communication, there are relatively few that focus on the everyday practices involved in religious communication. Specifically, there is a lack of research that examines conversation about religion and faith. Many churches are currently implementing "discipleship programs" into their ministries in order to encourage growth and maturity within the congregation. These discipleship relationships emphasize conversation and interaction, and should be considered worthy of study. In order to study discipleship, four conversations between discipleship dyads were audio-recorded, transcribed, and then analyzed. The current research utilized conversation analysis in order to understand how footing, second stories, and dispreferred turns function within discipleship conversations. Additionally, the analysis focuses on how speakers and recipients achieve similarity and agreement in discipleship conversations.