A significant body of empirical studies shows the relationship between support for women clergy and denominational affiliation, but few analyze how pulpit discourse influences congregants’ support or disapproval of women clergy. Gender inequality among clergy is partly attributable to cultural values resident in local congregations; hence, studying how religious elites craft narratives concerning gender and ordination helps us understand the mechanisms involved in moving women into ecclesiastical authority. This article delineates how a new senior pastor’s liberal preaching and female clerical appointment helped Second Baptist transform into an internal system of support for women to exercise ministerial leadership and spiritual gifts. This article demonstrates the role of leadership, discourse, symbols, and mentoring in producing more women clergy and shaping the beliefs and values of the congregation.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Baer, H. A. 1993. The limited empowerment of women in black spiritual churches: An alternative vehicle to religious leadership. Sociology of Religion54:65-82.
2.
Cavendish, J. 2000. Church-based community activism: A comparison of black and white Catholic congregations. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion39:371-384.
3.
Cavendish, J. 2001. To march or not to march: Clergy mobilization strategies and grassroots antidrug activism. In Christian clergy in American politics, edited by S. Crawford and L. Olson, 203-223. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
4.
Chapman, M. L. 1996. Christianity on trial: African-American religious thought before and after black power. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis.
5.
Chaves, M. 1997. Ordaining women. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
6.
Fleck, L. 1935/1979. Genesis and development of a scientific fact. Chicago: University of Chicago.
7.
Gilkes, C. T. 1994. The politics of “silence”: Dual-sex political systems and women’s traditions of conflict in African-American religion. In African-American Christianity, edited by P. Johnson, 80-110. Berkeley: University of California Press.
8.
Gilkes, C. T. 1997. The roles of church and community mothers: Ambivalent American sexism or fragmented African familyhood? In African American religion: Interpretive essays in history and culture, edited by T. E. Fulop and A. Raboteau, 365-388. New York: Routledge.
9.
Guth, J. 2001. Reflections on the status of research on clergy in politics. In Christian clergy in American politics, edited by S. Crawford and L. Olson, 30-43. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
10.
Harris, F. C. 2001. Religious resources in an oppositional culture. In Oppositional consciousness: The subjective roots of social protest, edited by J. Mansbridge and A. Morris, 38-64. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
11.
Higginbotham, E. B. 1993. Righteous discontent: The women’s movement in the black Baptist church 1880-1920. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
12.
Konieczny, M., and M. Chaves. 2000. Resources, race, and female-headed congregations in the United States. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion39:261-271.
13.
Kuhn, T. 1962. The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
14.
Lee, S. 2003. The church of faith and freedom: African-American Baptists and social action. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion42:31-42.
15.
Lehman, E. C. 1985. Women clergy: Breaking through gender barriers. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
16.
Lehman, E. C. 1993. Gender and ministry style: Things not what they seem. Sociology of Religion54:1-11.
17.
Lincoln, C. E., and L. Mamiya. 1990. The black church in the African American experience. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
18.
Morris, A., and N. Braine. 2001. Social movements and oppositional consciousness. In Oppositional consciousness: The subjective roots of social protest, edited by J. Mansbridge and A. Morris, 20-37. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
19.
Morris, A., and S. Lee. Forthcoming. The national Baptist convention: Tradition and the challenges of modernity.
20.
Nesbitt, P. D. 1993. Dual ordination tracks: Differential benefits and costs for men and women clergy. Sociology of Religion54:13-30.
21.
Pattillo-McCoy, M. 1998. Church culture as a strategy of action in the black community. American Sociological Review63:767-784.
22.
Riley, A. 1999. A silent revolution in the black Baptist church. Master’s thesis, Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, Illinois.
23.
Snow, D., and R. Benford. 1988. Ideology, frame resonance, and participant mobilization. In From structure to action: Comparing social movement research across cultures, edited by B. Klandermans, H. Kriesi, and S. Tarrow, 197-217. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
24.
Sullins, P. 2000. The stained glass ceiling: Career attainment for women clergy. Sociology of Religion61:243-266.
25.
Swidler, A. 2001. Talk of love: How culture matters. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
