South African Anglican clergywomen merging ministry and motherhood : exploring presence, praxis and power.
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Date
2014
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Abstract
Until recently, feminist research in the area of women’s leadership within
churches has been predominantly based on the inclusion case for the
ordination of women or for women in other spaces of authority. This thesis
sought to shift this debate beyond the argument for the inclusion of women in
positions of religious authority and asks what happens when women are in
such leadership roles, and moreover when these women are “mothers of the
church.” To what extent are the vocations of motherhood and priesthood
reciprocal? What are the activities and relationships that constitute the
vocations of motherhood and priesthood? How are these activities and
relationships embodied within the praxis of motherhood and priesthood? And
finally how are new understandings of power being negotiated by the
presence and praxis of clergy mothers?
These questions were explored through critical qualitative empirical research
within the Anglican Church of South Africa (ACSA). The research was
primarily grounded within a feminist theoretical framework. Through narrative
interviews with seven clergywomen three major themes related to clergy
mothers’ experiences in leadership were explored. The first theme explored
the “presence” of the clergy mothers in ministry and sought to understand,
drawing on feminist theories of embodiment, how female bodies and
perspectives might change church offices, pulpits, altars and beyond. The
second theme focused on the “praxis” of clergy mothers in terms of formation
and ministry, and a feminist theology of praxis was brought to bear on the
women’s experiences. Finally the “power” (and sometimes lack thereof) of
clergy mothers was explored through the concept of “natality” as opposed to
“mortality” – a focus on our embodied realities first, before the “life hereafter”
as a key theme in Christian theology.
The thesis concludes that the presence, praxis and power of clergy mothers
(with new experiences, insights and wisdom) are transforming the structures
and manifestations of the Anglican Church in Southern Africa in multiple
ways. Clergy mothers are teaching all priests and the laity about the values of
sacramental mothering; maternal leadership; and about the importance of
making a “preferential option for the children.” These lessons if heeded can
certainly be life-transforming for the church. Among the many theological
contributions this thesis makes the most significant is the challenge to
liberation theological discourse to extend the epistemological privilege of the
poor to also including an epistemological privilege to the children. This new
option provides the opportunity for liberation theologians to seek
understanding through an embodied optic and for the church to practice
genuine inclusivity.
Description
Ph. D. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2014.
Keywords
Women clergy., Women in the Anglican Communion., Christian leadership -- South Africa., Theses -- Theology.