Breaking the "Stained Glass Ceiling": Understanding the Social, Structural, and Theological Barriers to the Participation and Engagement of Ordained Women within the Church of Ireland
Based on mixed methods research conducted with a small sample (n=50) of female ordinands within the Church of Ireland, this paper identifies a range of barriers to the participation and engagement of ordained women within the Church of Ireland. Informed by feminist theology and sociological theories...
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| Contributors: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2021
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| In: |
Journal of the Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religions
Year: 2021, Volume: 8, Pages: 86-109 |
| Further subjects: | B
Female clergy
B gendered religion B Church of Ireland B ordained women B Motherhood B Feminist Theology B patriarchal Church structures |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Based on mixed methods research conducted with a small sample (n=50) of female ordinands within the Church of Ireland, this paper identifies a range of barriers to the participation and engagement of ordained women within the Church of Ireland. Informed by feminist theology and sociological theories of gender, power, and religion we argue that social, theological, and structural barriers such as attitudes and norms, social networks, patriarchal ideologies of faith, and theological belief systems work together in an interrelated system to sustain negative attitudes and discriminatory behaviour towards ordained women within the contemporary Church of Ireland. This research finds that 70 percent of women surveyed reported a negative experience within the Church that they attributed to their gender, whilst 62 percent felt that their experience of ordained ministry within the Church has been different to that of their male colleagues. Analysis of follow-up interviews identified three interlocking themes of difference which work to marginalise ordained women within their religious institution: the interpretation of theology, patriarchal social and ecclesiastical structures, and perceptions of motherhood. |
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| ISSN: | 2009-7409 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religions, Journal of the Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religions
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