Gender, Race, Power and Religion: Women in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa in Post-Apartheid Society

ISBN-13: 9783631528402 / Angielski / Miękka / 2004 / 304 str.

Uta Theilen

Opis

This book addresses the evolving structure of the three traditional women s organisations of the Methodist Church in post-apartheid South Africa, and the experiences of women in leadership roles within the church. These organisations are still more or less divided along racial lines. The aim of the fieldwork carried out from 1995 to 1997 and in 2000 was to find out if these racial boundaries would begin to dissolve and if women would find more empowerment in their congregations after the democratisation of the country. Further topics are the renaissance of African traditions and religious practices that came about with the end of apartheid. The methodology follows an ethnographic approach that relies heavily on interviews and participant observation, with the analysis bringing South African women s voices to bear on these issues, rather than providing an external and analytical analysis of the issues."

Spis treści

Contents : Methodist women's organisations in post-apartheid South Africa - Methodist mission in South Africa - African traditions and customary law in post-apartheid South Africa - Methodism and African traditions.

O autorze

The Author: Uta Theilen studied Protestant Theology and Comparative Religion at the Universities of Heidelberg, Marburg, Durban and Cape Town. Early in her life she discovered fieldwork as an excellent method to encounter people of different social systems and cultures. Accordingly, she has engaged in fieldwork projects in Germany, India, South Africa and the USA. Today she lives in northern Germany and works as a freelance journalist and writer. She gained a Ph.D. in Religious Studies at the University of Marburg in 2003.