The Theological Meaning of Jesus’ Resurrection: A Content Analysis of Mainline and Conservative Protestant Easter Sunday Sermons

Abstract

AbstractThis Canadian study qualitatively analyzed the texts of 35 conservative and 34 mainline Protestant Easter Sunday sermons. With the goal of indentifying similarities and differences between the conservative and mainline texts, the sermons were examined to determine 1) what they said about the purpose and meaning of Jesus’ resurrection and 2) the degree to which those explanations more broadly reflected adherence to the doctrine of Biblical authority. Among other findings, it was determined that sermons in both groups linked Jesus’ resurrection to supernatural boons for believers (i.e., eternal life, divine power in this life, or both). However, when referencing these supernatural gains the two groups differed in terms of proportion and manner of explication. All the conservative Protestant sermons referenced one or more supernatural benefits but less than two-thirds of the mainline sermons did so; the remaining mainline texts posited that the resurrection’s theological meaning was metaphorical and served to reveal a key existential lesson. Furthermore, conservative Protestant sermons always supported their theological claims with scriptural proof-texts while the vast majority of mainline sermons did not (the exception being sermons preached in rural mainline churches). Overall, strong adherence to the doctrine of Biblical authority was evidenced in the conservative Protestant sermons while the mainline sermons did not evidence strong adherence to that doctrine. Implications and possible explanations of these results are discussed.