While discussing Dr. Crafton's book chapter in class last Thursday (September 26th), I was surprised to hear how many that participated in the discussed felt about church.
In the section in Dr. Crafton's book title "Church as a socializing agent" when referencing her mother and sister, she states "I’m sure they would name “Christian” as a top identity in their lives and its literal meanings and teachings not open to negotiation; such is the nature of all fundamentalist religious views." I could completely relate to this myself.
When asked about my identity, "Christian" is at the top of my list (right behind female). Growing up, I never really had a choice whether to attend church or not. My grandmother is the pastor so it was mandatory every Sunday. I sang in the choir and participated in various other activities without any thought. For a small portion of my life, I even attended a Christian school. My parents never really gave me the option of not attending church and I didn't get to pick what school to attend, so I just assumed that this was the way I was supposed to live my life. Then as I entered high school, my views, thoughts and beliefs began to shift. I was in enrolled in public school for quite some time by then and I began to realize that there was a "life" outside of church and religion. I started working and participating in school activities which prevented my from attending church service every Sunday which eventually led to my departure from the church. I felt conflicted because I didn't want to offend my grandmother and the rest of my family by departing. It was also difficult because this was a part of my identity for so long; I began to feel lost. I wasn't sure if I could even still identify as a Christian until I entered college. I realized that though I don't attend church every Sunday, I still have the morals and values that I have learned through church instilled in me. When I was younger, what I was taught in church was "not open to negotiation." I was taught that 'it was, what it was and that's how things were supposed to be.' This is a huge factor in why my beliefs are so set in.
In our class discussion, many mentioned feelings of power imbalances within the church and beliefs that ideas are forced. I had a hard time relating this, possibly because my grandmother is a female pastor. I can't say that I saw power imbalances within my church but I did find that there were people that didn't attend her church simply because the church was led by a woman and other churches didn't want to be associated with our church for the same reason.
I want to further delve into the topic of power imbalances within the church. If church is supposed to be a place of worship, why would something as minuscule as an individual's gender play any role in that? Religion is a touchy topic, but I'm just curious to hear other opinions and perspectives.
Myriah,
ReplyDeleteI, too, have the same basic values and morals I learned in church and they certainly feel right to me and a strong part of my identity even when I am in a Jewish synagogue! Of course, I guess that shouldn't surprise me so much as the ten commandments came out the Old Testament which is what Judaism is based on.
But there was a point when I really felt left out of the religion -- no valued, not invited into the leadership, not feeling that my views were encouraged or developed. Certainly, it was a "follower" position -- both of Jesus and the other religious men promoting his views. We had a great conversation on Tuesday re: why women tend to be more religious than men -- at least in my experience with Christian women. However, after class, I thought about Jewish men and women and, certainly, there seems to be more parity there in terms of depth of embracing the religion but men definitely play even stronger leadership roles than they do in Christianity. Why do you think that's true (if you do) in our religion?
Fascinating blog -- the social construction of roles in the church or in religion in general might be an interesting topic for your research paper?
Myriah,
ReplyDeleteWhen I was reading your post I felt like I could relate to a lot of what you were saying. My own upbringing had many similar "struggles" so before I respond to your question I want to give a bit of context.
Growing up I too was required to go to church every Sunday. I was enrolled in Lutheran schools for all of grade school and most of high school. After my first year of high school I was given the choice to change schools and attend a public school. I was also given the choice to go to church, instead of being "forced" to go. I took the opportunity because "the grass is always greener" right? During this time at the public school I still went to church pretty regularly. However, the next year I returned to the Lutheran school but almost completely stopped attending church. It was at this point in my life that I actually started to identify myself as a Christian. I did not agree with everything that the church said but I strongly believed in the moral values. I felt a sense of control in my own belief system.
In your post you mention that you did not see a power imbalance within your church. However, you acknowledge that people and even other churches did not want to be associated with your church because there was a female pastor. I think the way you recognized this phenomenon actually demonstrates a very disturbing power imbalance based upon gender.
You ask the question "If church is supposed to be a place of worship, why would something as minuscule as an individual's gender play any role in that?". Although I do not have a definitive answer for this question I think I have some insightful speculations. I highly doubt that the people who did not attend her church thought that the message or scriptures would change. The only thing they could be certain of is that the gender of the pastor would be different. The fact that other churches refused to be associated only shows how strong of a gender imbalance there is. Churches love affiliation (in my experience). There is definitely a strong emphasis on "the power of numbers" in the bible (like people gathering together). The lack of unity based on a pastors gender is confusing and shocking to me. I think what professor Crafton said in class about the bible being traditionally focused on men is one hundred percent accurate. There are very important women who had leadership roles in the bible but the "best sellers" are all definitely men. What I mean by that is stories such as Noah's Ark, Moses and the freeing of the slaves, David and Goliath... (the list goes on trust me) all focus on men in leadership roles and all are taught to us when we are young. We are "sold" these stories when we are young and impressionable. We then take these ideas we have learned and develop them explicitly. There is without a doubt a message of which gender is valued higher as leaders (in my opinion).
So maybe some people could feel that being led into worship by a woman is somehow less appropriate than a man. That because it is not what they are used to it is wrong. I think that people's perspective and background play a devastating part in forming opinions on subjects like this. I found a video by a male pastor who supports females being pastors but attempts to explain why some people might not agree with him. Take a look at the forty second clip below. I believe it echos the focus of perspective and makes us critical engage in recognizing that everyone including pastors and church communities do not share a single perspective.
http://www.tubechop.com/watch/1535246
I noticed I could not hyperlink in my response. Copy and paste that URL, that video was really insightful!
DeleteTerrific analysis of the obvious power imbalances at play in religious settings. Dr. C
ReplyDelete