Religious Traditions and Personal Stories: Women Working as Priests, Ministers and Rabbis

ISBN-13: 9783631537404 / Angielski / Miękka / 2005 / 470 str.

Ustorf, Werner

Opis

Women in roles of religious leadership represent a relatively new phenomenon within Judaism and Christianity and to some extent, a break with traditional assumptions. The study gives insight into how women are defining themselves as religious leaders and women within the context of patriarchal religion. The research is based on 50 qualitative interviews with women rabbis, Anglican priests and other Christian ministers. Some of the issues discussed concerning role, ordination and tradition are unrelated to gender. Christian interviewees describe their journeys into the ministry or priesthood predominantly as experiences of vocation whereas rabbis choose the rabbinate out of an interest in Jewish studies and in the role itself. With regard to gender women across the religious divide are facing opposition and are dealing with similar religious questions of inclusive language or the impact of traditional female roles.

Spis treści

Contents: Journeys to become priests, ministers or rabbis - Differences between the Christian ministry and the rabbinate - Women and their positive identification with their respective traditions - The lack of role models - Facing stereotypes and opposition - Dealing with patriarchal traditions - Traditional images of women - Questions of inclusive language.

O autorze

The Author: Uta Blohm is 37 years old. She has studied «Divinity» (Evangelische Theologie) in Bochum, Heidelberg and Wuppertal. Her main interests lay in Jewish-Christian Relations and Ecumenism. After her congregational training (Vikariat) in Düsseldorf she spent one year as a visiting minister in an Anglican congregation in South London followed by a year as a minister in a rural community in Germany. She was ordained in 1996 in a church with Lutheran and Calvinistic roots (Evangelische Kirche im Rheinland). Having worked as an Assistant Lecturer at the Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal the author pursued her own research interest as a Ph.D. student. She is currently working freelance and lives with her family in London.