Category: Gender Norms in Christian Co-Cultures

Gender Norms in Christian Co-Cultures, Pentecost Bands2 Comments

Pentecost Band Leaders Embrace Marital Purity

freemethodistfeminist

While Free Methodists during the Progressive Era were known for following stringent Holiness lifestyle guidelines. (For example, simple dress, no instrumental music during services, refraining from any leisure activity that was deemed “worldly.”) Many Pentecost Band members took Holiness living to an entirely new level.  One of the most fascinating and controversial of these beliefs was the practice of marital purity (more commonly called social purity).  Most band workers were single and served in bands with workers of the same sex. However, a few married couples co-led different bands, including Vivan and Ida Dake, Minnie Baldwin Shelhammer and E.E. Shelhamer. … Continue reading Pentecost Band Leaders Embrace Marital Purity

Gender Norms in Christian Co-Cultures1 Comment

Jinger Duggar’s Book Illustrates the Toxicity of Complementarian Theology

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Duggar’s book is brave, and she has no allusion that what she is saying is going to be easy for IBLP families to believe or that those who didn’t grow up in conservative Christian culture will fully understand the impact of leaders like Gothard. Continue reading Jinger Duggar’s Book Illustrates the Toxicity of Complementarian Theology

Christian Patriarchy, Gender Norms in Christian Co-CulturesLeave a comment

Christian Media & Complementarian Theology: This Partnership isn’t a New Thing

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As today’s media landscape extends into every area of life, we are more connected through technology than ever before. The pseudo-community created through social media, television, radio, and print recreates an experience like what Christians encounter when attending church. Continue reading Christian Media & Complementarian Theology: This Partnership isn’t a New Thing

Christian Patriarchy, Free Methodism, Gender Norms in Christian Co-Cultures1 Comment

Why Rhetoric Matters: The Power of Words to Liberate or Manipulate Gender Norms

freemethodistfeminist

It’s hard to explain to people who don’t study rhetoric why it’s important or for that matter what rhetoric is.  A basic definition is that rhetoric is the art of discourse. It is the study of speech. Words are powerful tools. They support ideology, stir passion and anger, and most importantly fuel action. We study the words of the present and the past to learn from our triumphs and our failures. A society that does not learn from its mistakes is a society that is guaranteed to continue repeating the same missteps. Perhaps this why I’ve turned much of my … Continue reading Why Rhetoric Matters: The Power of Words to Liberate or Manipulate Gender Norms

Free Methodism, Gender Norms in Christian Co-CulturesLeave a comment

Debating Biblical Gender Roles Then and Now

freemethodistfeminist

It’s easy to believe that the debates about gender roles in evangelical culture are a recent development. Yet, looking through Free Methodist Magazine archives from over a hundred years ago, it’s clear that the debate on Biblical gender roles goes back centuries. Perhaps, I can justify the tension regarding women’s roles the nineteenth and early twentieth century Free Methodist Church somewhat, but I cannot justify nor understand why this debate still continues. As is always the case we too often forget history and do not learn from the past. In the early twentieth century America was in the midst of … Continue reading Debating Biblical Gender Roles Then and Now

Feminism and Christianity, Free Methodism, Gender Norms in Christian Co-Cultures2 Comments

What Makes a Free Methodist Feminist?

freemethodistfeminist

I’m re-posting this entry since I now have more readers than I did when I originally posted it. It’s my manifesto for what I believe and what I research. Occasionally I’m asked why I call myself a feminist. Now that my blog is getting a few readers I’m getting this question more often. The concept of a “Free Methodist Feminist” seems like an oxymoron. Yet, I stand by this term. I am a feminist.  While there are definitely some feminists who distance themselves from organized religion and view organized religion as just another way to enforce patriarchy, I don’t see … Continue reading What Makes a Free Methodist Feminist?