Rethinking Complementarianism: Sydney Anglicans, Orthodoxy and Gendered Inequality

Abstract Complementarianism, that is, Christian teaching focusing on men’s leadership and women’s submission as an ideal pattern of relationships and gendered behaviour, has been identified both as a boundary marker with little lived currency and as a contributing factor in instances of intimate par...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Religion & gender
Main Author: Shorter, Rosie Clare (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Brill 2021
In: Religion & gender
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Sydney / Anglican congregation / Gender-specific role / Complementarity (Sociology) / Orthodoxy
RelBib Classification:CB Christian life; spirituality
CH Christianity and Society
FD Contextual theology
KBS Australia; Oceania
KDE Anglican Church
NBE Anthropology
NCB Personal ethics
RB Church office; congregation
Further subjects:B Anglican
B Gender
B Secularism
B complementarian
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:Abstract Complementarianism, that is, Christian teaching focusing on men’s leadership and women’s submission as an ideal pattern of relationships and gendered behaviour, has been identified both as a boundary marker with little lived currency and as a contributing factor in instances of intimate partner violence. This contradiction raises a question; does complementarianism have little felt effect or does it have significant—and violent—social consequences? In this article, drawing on Scott’s analysis of Secularism as discourse I consider complementarianism as a religio-political discourse. Through analysis of published church material and stories gathered through interviews with parishioners and church staff, I explore how complementarianism is constructed and implemented in the Sydney Anglican Diocese. I argue that complementarianism is not a distinctively Christian theology, but a discourse, or story, told in community which constructs orthodoxy and both creates and limits gendered and religious identity.
ISSN:1878-5417
Contains:Enthalten in: Religion & gender
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/18785417-bja10005