Sermon ou Homélie: la fonction de la prédication.

The following article presents a study carried out by the Centre Régional d'Etudes Socio-Religieuses de Lille (France). (Regional Center for Social-Religious Studies of Lille ∼France), The aim is to find out the part that preaching plays in society. From a sample of 27 speeches gathered in that area, it would appear that it is the moral aspect of questions brought up by preachers, rather than the doctrinal or ritual ones, which must be regarded as the most striking when considering this type of discourse. As for the present shift in ecclesiastic vocabulary which uses "Homily" rather than "Sermon," this would indicate a preference among preachers for an inductive approach rather than a deductive one. This study was carried out by a research center serving pastoral action, with a strictly scientific outlook. And the authors are well aware of the questions that are bound to arise concerning such a study?, and more basically, what is the role of sociology? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]