This paper explores the theoretical and conceptual framework of interpreting in a religious context as an already established field of research within Interpreting Studies and seeks to establish common ground for terms and concepts used by researchers of this field in an effort to achieve agreement on terminology. Although the terms and concepts currently in use are based on valid assumptions and approaches, their diversity has thus far hindered the comparison and systematisation of empirical data published in this specific academic field. After proposing interpreting in a religious context as an umbrella term covering the various ramifications of this specific type of interpreting and research, this paper maps the conceptual relationships between context and setting, between interpreting as a general practice and its realisation in a religious context and proposes a definition for interpreting in a religious context. In the second part of the paper, a tentative set of specific features of interpreting in religious contexts is presented taking examples from the Roman Catholic Church as a first step towards further theoretical and empirical research in a broader array of denominations and religions.
Piroska Szentirmay (Wed,) studied this question.