Research on Lay Church Members Attitudes toward Women Clergy: An Assessment
This essay presents a review of empirical research into the receptivity lay church members display toward women clergy. The evidence to date indicates that receptivity to women in ministry has characteristics similar to attitudes toward other objects. Receptivity can be differentiated into at least...
| Published in: | Review of religious research |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Springer
1987
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| In: |
Review of religious research
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This essay presents a review of empirical research into the receptivity lay church members display toward women clergy. The evidence to date indicates that receptivity to women in ministry has characteristics similar to attitudes toward other objects. Receptivity can be differentiated into at least three dimensions--perceptions, affect, and motivations to act. These dimensions vary widely among lay church members, although the overall tendency is to be more accepting than rejecting of clergywomen. These variations are associated with other member attributes, e.g., level of sexism in general, traditional religious involvement, type of church and community, and cultural localism. After contact with women ministers, especially contact in-role, the level of receptivity tends to increase, as does the cognitive complexity of the attitude structure. While these patterns appear to recur in various studies, there is yet much we do not know about certain denominational groups and from perspectives other than sociology. |
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| ISSN: | 2211-4866 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Review of religious research
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3511637 |