Women Clergy Research and the Sociology of Religion

Lummis, Adair T.; Nesbitt, Paula D.

doi:10.2307/3712528

Cited by 11 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The sociology of gender and religion first emerged in the 1970s and 1980s with feminist critiques of religion (especially in its fundamentalist variants) on the one hand, and studies of issues such as women’s ordination (Lummis and Nesbitt 2000) and goddess worship (Echols 1989; Griffin 2003; Neitz 2003) on the other. Reflecting the history of gender scholarship more generally, much of this work was produced by women sociologists who were politicized by the women’s movement and who turned a critical eye to women’s experiences within various religious traditions (Avishai and Irby 2013).…”

Section: Sociological Research On Gender and Religionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Gender Lens on Religion

2015

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This special issue is the result of concerns about the marginalized status of gender within the sociology of religion. The collection of exciting new research in this special issue advocates for the importance of a gender lens on questions of religion in order to highlight issues, practices, peoples, and theories that would otherwise not be central to the discipline. We encourage sociologists who study religion to engage more in interdisciplinary and intersectional scholarship, acknowledge developments in the global South, and develop more compelling theoretical frameworks that analyze religion from a gendered perspective. Our aim is to bring religion to the attention of gender and feminist scholars and to encourage religion scholars to consider gender not just as a variable but as a social structure. We hope that both groups of scholars will consider gender and religion as mutually constitutive social categories.

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Section: Sociological Research On Gender and Religionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Gender Lens on Religion

2015

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“…Among Christian religions, these gender role distinctions have been most strictly enforced by Roman Catholicism, which has, for example, consistently opposed the ordination of women. Protestant denominations have generally adopted a more open approach towards gender roles, allowing the entry of women into formal positions of religious authority (Lummis, 2006;Lummis and Nesbit, 2000). More generally, Protestantism has embraced a more individualistic approach towards religious practice, placing emphasis on direct communication with God that is unmediated by the organizational hierarchies of the Church (Cohen, 2002;Weber, 1930).…”

Section: Religionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of technical progress, professionalization and Christian religion in occupational gender segregation: a cross-national analysis

Racko

Burchell

2013

Work, Employment and Society

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Studies have linked cross-national variations in occupational gender segregation with various economic, social and normative characteristics of countries. This study contributes to the research on the role of normative or 'cultural' characteristics by examining the influence of the level of technical progress, professionalization and Christian religion on cross-national variations in occupational gender segregation. The analysis is based on a sample of 33 countries. Variations in gender distribution are assessed using a reliable measure of occupational segregation, marginal matching. The analysis uses recent survey data (collected between 2002 and 2006) and a differentiated occupational classification scheme at the ISCO-88 3-digit level. Controlling for other confounding influences, the study finds higher occupational segregation of sexes in countries with higher levels of technical progress and in countries where Catholicism or Protestantism is a dominant religion.

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“…Research indicates that female clergy themselves are in a key position to change the Church and that their role differs a lot in different churches [3]. Women, especially those in elite positions, have the potential to influence social change that benefits women's interests [4,5].…”

Section: Women In Ministrymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, women do not have the same impact in practice than clergymen have in the policies and actions taken by churches. [4,5] Despite the increase in the number of female clergy, the number of women in leadership positions increases slowly-if at all [7]. According to the National Congregation Study, 7.9% of congregations in United States had a female leader (in 2006/2007) [7].…”

Section: Women In Ministrymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Female Clergy as Agents of Religious Change?

Niemelä¹

2011

Religions

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This article focuses on female clergy as potential agents of change in the Church. I argue that the adoption of female clergy is one of the main factors that cause the Church to change its practices, policies and theological orientation. The first female ministers were ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland in 1988. This is fairly late compared to other Nordic countries. However, the number of female ministers and female students has been growing fast and nowadays about 70 percent of theology students are female.The paper is based on quantitative surveys conducted among the members of the Clergy Union in 2002, 2006 and 2010 (N = about 1,000 each) and among the applicants for university studies in theology in 2010. The research shows that clergywomen are changing the Church in a clearly more liberal direction. They do it in various areas of church life: they change the perception of faith and dogma, the policies of the Church as well as daily practices in parishes. Clergymen are notably more traditional in their orientation, even young clergymen. Therefore it is especially the female clergy who serve as agents of religious change in the Church.

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Women Clergy Research and the Sociology of Religion

Cited by 11 publications

References 6 publications

A Gender Lens on Religion

A Gender Lens on Religion

The role of technical progress, professionalization and Christian religion in occupational gender segregation: a cross-national analysis

Female Clergy as Agents of Religious Change?

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