Sociologist Lisa Weaver Swartz joins us to talk how gender and power work in American evangelicalism, beyond the level of policies, theological positions, and aspirations. Her book Stained Glass Ceilings: How Evangelicals Do Gender and Practice Power explores this dynamic by examining the formation of evangelical leaders in two seminary communities, one complementarian (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) and one egalitarian (Asbury Theological Seminary).
Lisa Weaver Swartz holds a PhD from the University of Notre Dame. She lives in the bluegrass region of Kentucky where she teaches sociology and writes about gender and religion. You can connect with her via her website.
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Interesting podcast! A couple notes about enculturated gender norms that affect churches:
* 2020 study published by BYU researchers. For women to have *equal* airtime with men in a group working toward a *majority* decision, the gender ratio must be 4:1 (4 women per 1 man). At other ratios, each woman gets at best 75% as much air time as each man, and 70% of interruptions by men of women will be negative. Behavior differs when the group must make a *unanimous* decision. In this decision-making mode, even a lone woman gets almost as much air time as the individual men in the group and most interruptions are affirmations. Article suggests some organizational strategies. https://magazine.byu.edu/article/when-women-dont-speak/
* The “disruptive” element already in the conservative church environment is in the Bible. I’ve never heard 1 Cor 12: 22-23 preached or discussed : “On the contrary, those parts of the body … that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor.” I can understand why no one who holds a special place at the front of the church highlights that text! To lead from the position of humility this verse represents would switch the dynamic no matter who’s up front. And until that happens, I’ll just keep my smirk to myself …
(BTW, yes, I’m the author you had on your podcast a while back. Next book is about God’s direct commands for creation care — did you ever notice that the blessing for treating a mother bird with care is the same as the blessing for honoring human parents? Best to all! Carlene)