| Description |
xv, 194 pages ; 24 cm |
| Series |
Women and gender in North American religions |
|
Women and gender in North American religions.
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| Contents |
Foreword / Betty Bone Schiess -- 1. Behind the Facade -- 2. The Episcopal Church: A Hierarchical and Male-Dominated Culture -- 3. The United Methodist Church: Of Celebration and Behavior -- 4. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: Hand in Hand to the Arena, Crucified Alone -- 5. The Southern Baptist Convention: The Priesthood of Some Believers -- 6. The Roman Catholic Church: A Defining and Excluding Bureaucracy -- 7. A Still Small Voice |
| Summary |
To substantiate his assertion that churches are cultures as well as organizations, Schmidt examines both official policies regarding women's ordination in each denomination and the cultural context in which those policies must play out. Through their stories, the clergywomen remind us that the church influences society whether society acknowledges it or not |
|
Drawing from interviews of fifty ordained and seminary-trained women, Frederick W. Schmidt, Jr. explores the bureaucratic and cultural underpinnings of the church that continues to bar women from positions of authority. Writing as a seminary-trained sociologist, Schmidt concentrates on the roles of clergywomen in five denominations - Episcopal, United Methodist, Evangelical Lutheran, Southern Baptist, and Roman Catholic. He maintains that behind the facade of equanimity, women are often relegated to the outskirts of church hierarchy. In compelling stories, we learn about the Episcopal woman denied a job because she was too short; the Methodist women burdened by the old saw of women preachers being like dogs walking on their hind legs; the Evangelical Lutheran who, in protest to her denomination's trickle-down reform, camped outside her bishop's office; and Roman Catholic women who, frustrated and beleaguered by their church's refusal to ordain them, become active reformers |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 179-188) and index |
| Subject |
Christian sects -- United States -- Controversial literature.
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Christian sects -- United States.
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Women clergy -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
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| LC no. |
95019950 |
| ISBN |
081560372X (paperback: alk. paper) |
|
0815626835 (alk. paper) |
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