WHAT MAKES RELIGIOUS RHETORIC TEACHABLE? A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF UZBEK ISLAMIC AND ANGLICAN DISCOURSE FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION

Abstract

Religious discourse represents a unique form of institutional communication characterized by persuasive rhetoric, cultural symbolism, and multimodal communicative strategies. This study investigates the rhetorical and extralinguistic features of sermons delivered by representatives of the Uzbek Islamic tradition, particularly Shaykh Muhammad Sodiq Muhammad Yusuf and Shaykh Sayyid Rahmatulloh Termiziy, in comparison with the sermons of Anglican leaders Rowan Williams and Justin Welby. Employing a comparative discourse-analytical and linguocultural approach, the research identifies key rhetorical devices, including metaphor, parallelism, scriptural references, address forms, and inclusive pronouns, as well as extralinguistic elements such as intonation, pauses, and speech tempo. The findings reveal both convergences and divergences in persuasive strategies across the two religious traditions. Furthermore, the study demonstrates the pedagogical potential of religious discourse for English Language Teaching (ELT), particularly within the frameworks of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), Task-Based Learning (TBL), and Content-Based Instruction (CBI). The article proposes a discourse-based model that enhances intercultural communicative competence, rhetorical awareness, critical thinking, and discourse competence among language learners. The study contributes to contemporary research on religious discourse, intercultural communication, and language pedagogy by highlighting the educational value of authentic religious texts and speeches as linguocultural resources.