Thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University, 2003. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 183-199).

Women preached and itinerated in different Methodist traditions in the first half of the nineteenth century in Canada. By the middle of the century, many of them had relinquished the pulpit and they soon disappeared. In the United States of America, women preachers also met with resistance, but well before the twentieth century some Methodist women had been ordained. Although many aspects of the Canadian and American contexts were similar, women preachers experienced a somewhat different reception in each country because of the contrasting political climate. Whereas the American Methodist churches reflected the more liberal atmosphere of their country, the Canadian Methodist Episcopal church intentionally adopted the more reactionary stance of the British Wesleyans in order to gain respectability and political advantage. The other Canadian Methodist churches gradually imbibed this conservative atmosphere, and as a result, Canadian women were eventually discouraged from a preaching role. This dissertation recovers the history of a number of nineteenth century Methodist women preaching in Canada, examines their British heritage and the experiences of their American sisters, and suggests reasons for the Canadian devolution.

Thesis (Ph. D. in Religion)--Vanderbilt University, Aug. 2008. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Research on the ordination of women has focused on the effect in the church and on aspects of the personality of the women choosing the priesthood but not on effects on the families of ordained women. Using personal interviews, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale and the Bem Sex Role Inventory, spouses in 12 families which contain ordained women from Episcopalian, Methodist, Unity and The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints churches were analyzed to determine the effects of ordination on the families. Couples containing an ordained female were found to have slightly higher marital adjustment and significantly higher levels of androgyny than a standardized sample. Androgyny and marital adjustment were significantly correlated. The more androgenous, the greater the marital adjustment.

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Text in German with summaries in German and English / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 179-182) / In dieser Studie geht es um das Selbstverständnis von Frauen in Leiterschaft in drei von fünf Bünden, die im August 2013 als Freikirchen in Österreich (FKÖ) rechtlich anerkannt wurden. In Leitfadeninterviews äußern sich Leiterinnen zur sogenannten Frauenfrage, ihrem Glauben und ihren Aufgaben in der Gemeinde. Die Forschung findet anhand des empirisch-theologischen Praxiszyklus statt, das Kodieren der Daten und die anschließende Theoriegenerierung geschieht durch die Grounded Theory. Es werden vier Leitertypen aus den erarbeiteten Daten generiert: die Befreite, die ihre Leitungsaufgaben ungehindert erfüllt, die arrivierte Kämpferin, die andere überzeugen konnte, die aktive Kämpferin, die momentan vor Herausforderungen steht und die Suchende, die nicht sicher ist, wie die biblischen Texte zur Frauenfrage heute angewendet werden sollten. Verschiedene Auslegungstraditionen zu ausgewählten Bibelstellen zur Frauenfrage werden der Praxis in Freikirchen gegenübergestellt mit dem Ziel, Horizonte zu erweitern und Gemeindepraxis zu verändern. / This study is about the self-perception of women regarding their roles in leadership in the Free Churches of Austria (FKÖ). In guided interviews woman leaders reflect on aspects of women in ministry, such as being denied the office of teaching, their function in the church and the influence of their faith. The study is done using the empirical-theological practice cycle. The coding of the data and the generating of a theory is done according to the model of Grounded Theory. In the study four types of woman leaders emerge: the liberated woman, who fulfils her duties unimpeded; the successful fighter, who convinced others; the active fighter, who struggles with complementarian practices; and the searcher, who hasn’t found the best interpretations of the biblical texts. Biblical passages and their use with regard to women in ministry are compared to practices in certain churches, so to broaden perspectives and change church praxis. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

Women today continue to struggle against male-dominated values and norms, and male prejudices, both in society and the Church. This balance of power needs to be altered to free women from the domination of men. The strategies proposed in this dissertation are based on the Christian ethic of justice and equality. Their implementation, I argue, would empower women to resist oppression, independently of men, to achieve liberation and equality so that male-dominated ideologies and structures could no longer oppress. A case study of women ministers in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa revealed discrimination against, and the limitation of the ministries of women clergy. The ethical dilemma of the Church appearing to follow, rather than to lead society on such issues was noted. The attainment of the liberation of women is dependent solely upon themselves and the extent to which they are prepared to take responsibility for their own lives. / M.Th. (Theological Ethics)

This thesis seeks to offer new perspectives on the role of women in African-American Christian denominations in the United States in the period between the Civil War and the turn of the twentieth century. It situates the changes in the roles available to black women in their churches in the context of ecclesiastical politics. By offering explanations of the growth of black denominations in the South after the Civil War and the political alignments in the leadership of the churches, it seeks to offer more powerful explanations of differences in the treatment of women in distict denominations. It explores the distinct worship practices of African-American Christianity and reflects on their relationship to denominational structure and character, and gender issues. Education was central to the participation of women in African-American Christianity in the late nineteenth century, so the thesis discusses the growth of black colleges under the auspices of the black churches. Finally it also explores the complex relationship between domestic ideology, the politics of respectability, and female participation in the black churches.

Women today continue to struggle against male-dominated values and norms, and male prejudices, both in society and the Church. This balance of power needs to be altered to free women from the domination of men. The strategies proposed in this dissertation are based on the Christian ethic of justice and equality. Their implementation, I argue, would empower women to resist oppression, independently of men, to achieve liberation and equality so that male-dominated ideologies and structures could no longer oppress. A case study of women ministers in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa revealed discrimination against, and the limitation of the ministries of women clergy. The ethical dilemma of the Church appearing to follow, rather than to lead society on such issues was noted. The attainment of the liberation of women is dependent solely upon themselves and the extent to which they are prepared to take responsibility for their own lives. / M.Th. (Theological Ethics)