The Experiences of African American Women in Nondenominational Ministry and How They Negotiate Powe
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VOICES FROM THE FRONT LINES: THE EXPERIENCES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN NONDENOMINATIONAL MINISTRY AND HOW THEY NEGOTIATE POWER by Jonafa H. Banbury, B.S.A.S. A thesis submitted to the Graduate Council of Texas State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts With a Major in Sociology May 2014 Committee Members: Joseph A. Kotarba, Chair Gloria Martinez-Ramos Dwight Watson COPYRIGHT by Jonafa H. Banbury 2014 FAIR USE AND AUTHOR’S PERMISSION STATEMENT Fair Use This work is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, section 107). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgment. Use of this material for financial gain without the author’s express written permission is not allowed. Duplication Permission As the copyright holder of this work I, Jonafa H. Banbury, authorize duplication of this work, in whole or in part, for educational or scholarly purposes only. DEDICATION In loving memory of my father, Joseph Simpson. April 10, 1934-May 25, 2012 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to thank Dr. Audwin Anderson, who first encouraged me to apply to the graduate Sociology program. Without your belief in my ability, I would not be here. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to my Committee chair and Center for Social Inquiry (CSI) Director, Dr. Joseph Kotarba. Through Dr. Kotarba’s mentorship and my involvement working with the CSI, I have gained valuable hands-on knowledge as a researcher. Your encouragement and direction have been invaluable. I would like to give special thanks to Committee member, Dr. Gloria Martinez- Ramos who has been my greatest mentor for the past few years. Throughout my graduate career, you have been an endless source of inspiration, and have been largely responsible for my professional socialization. I admire and respect your love for Sociology, your commitment to helping every student who crosses your path, and your strong work and research ethic. Words cannot express my gratitude for the time you have invested in me. I would also like to thank Committee member Dr. Dwight Watson whose frank and sage advice on managing a household and graduate school has provided me with a sense of equilibrium. Most of all, I would like to thank my three children and my husband Alex, who have been a constant source of support and encouragement. Alex, “you are the wind beneath my wings.” Lastly, I would like to thank my church family, my sisters Judy and Kay, and countless friends. Thank you for your patience, your prayers, and you support. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. v LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................vii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ viii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1 Literature Review ..................................................................................... 4 Feminist Perspective on Women in Ministry ........................................... 21 Research Questions ................................................................................ 29 II. METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................ 31 III. FINDINGS ................................................................................................... 37 Types of Speakers .................................................................................. 37 Why Nondenominational? ...................................................................... 41 Identity and Perception of Roles ............................................................. 50 Present Day Challenges: Naming Oppression ......................................... 71 Becoming a Minister .............................................................................. 96 IV. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ......................................................... 104 APPENDIX SECTION ................................................................................................ 113 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................ 118 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Participant Demographics ......................................................................................... 35 2. Participant Demographics Continued ........................................................................ 36 3. Typology of Speakers According to Gendered Challenges ......................................... 40 vii ABSTRACT This study focuses on the experiences of African American women in nondenominational churches, and how they negotiate power within the historically male- dominated church structure. Although the nondenominational church movement is growing rapidly, little scholarship exists that seeks to understand women ministers in general and even less about African American women in nondenominational ministries in particular. The issue of power within the context of gender relations in the Black church remains a contentious landscape where patriarchal structures are maintained as a community standard for African Americans as a group, and then internalized and recreated at the personal level. By examining Black women’s religious involvement in nondenominational church structures, this research seeks to place Black women at the center of analysis to reveal the many ways leadership is practiced and to redefine power using their situated knowledge and experiences. Findings from this research reveal that despite the fact that clergywomen in nondenominational churches still encounter religious sexism, they have been successful in establishing their own churches and breaking gender barriers within the church. Thus, nondenominational ministries are either a potential site for a paradigm shift toward empowerment to end sexism for African American women in ministry (and potentially Black women as a whole), or a site to perpetuate patriarchal oppression. viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Then that little man in black there, he says women can’t have as much rights as men, because Christ wasn’t a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him1 (Loewenberg 1976:236). Religion has been and is a very important and contentious issue in the United States. In 2008, 56 percent of Americans age 18 and older and an even higher number of African Americans (79 percent) report that religion is very important in their lives (Sahgal and Smith 2009). The Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life (2008) finds that women are more religious than men (63 percent of women and 49 percent of men). The numbers are higher still for African American women with 84 percent reporting that religion is important to them and who have the highest weekly church attendance, more than any other ethnic group (Sahgal and Smith 2009). Since the majority of the U.S. and an even larger number of blacks2 (87 percent) report religious affiliation, it makes sense that black women would seek admission into leadership positions within the clergy (Sahgal and Smith 2009). In general, female senior pastors in Protestant churches have risen from 5 percent in the 1990s to 10 percent in the year 2009 (The Barna Group 2009). However, traditional gender roles and religious doctrine have proven to be obstacles to black women in leadership roles in proportion to their numbers as congregants. 1 Excerpt from Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” speech at the 1851 Woman’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, p. 236. 2 The terms African Americans and black will be used interchangeably throughout the duration of this paper. 1 Historians and theologians understand that although women have been denied the role of pastor, as gained through ordination, historical accounts record the tradition of female preachers and religious leaders dating back to 1740 (Brekus 1998). Even though women have been excluded from ordination, they have not been absent from establishing, leading, and participating in the formation and continuation of Protestant denominations (Dodson 2002; Gilkes 1985; Kwilecki 1987). Nondenominational congregations are churches that are not affiliated with any particular denomination or bound by a centralized belief system, and they are free of outside control from a larger organized church body (McGuire 1997). A study on the recent rise of nondenominational churches conducted by Scott Thumma (2010) at the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, estimates that there are roughly 35,000 independent or nondenominational churches in the United States. The 2008 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey estimates nondenominational church attendants to be roughly 4.6 percent of the total U.S. population (The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life 2008). Although the nondenominational church movement is growing rapidly, little scholarship seeks to understand women ministers in general and even less about African American women in nondenominational ministries in particular. This study focuses on the experiences of African American women in positions of leadership within Christian non-denominational churches and their perceptions of the social