“Double-Burdened Mothers”
A Narrative Inquiry Concerning Women Pastors in Contemporary Protestant Churches in Mainland China
“背负双重负担的母亲们”──一项对中国大陆某省基督新教教会女性牧师的叙事研究
Since its reopening in the late 1970s, the Protestant Church (including both registered and unregistered churches) in mainland China has experienced rapid growth characterized by three conspicuous phenomena: extreme gender disproportion, increased numbers of young intellectual and white-collar converts, and growing numbers of women pastors. In this narrative study conducted between May 2016 and May 2017, the researcher interviewed eight women pastors in Protestant churches in W Province to understand their lives and experiences. This study found that the majority of the participating women pastors stated that they entered Christian ministry because of their mothers’ influence and prompting. On a deeper level, however, their decision can be attributed to the special political, economic, and social circumstances in mainland China during the 1950s–1970s. These women pastors see themselves as “double-burdened mothers” with respect to their families and the congregations. They face the challenges of dealing with complicated interpersonal relationships, a lack of male leaders and workers, and weak faith within their congregations.
自二十世纪七十年代末中国政府重新开放宗教场所以来，中国大陆的基督教新教教会在迅速的发展过程中呈现三大特点：一是信徒性别比例极度失衡；二是年轻知识分子和白领信徒增多；三是女性教牧人员的不断增多。截止目前，极少数学者关注女性教牧人员这一特殊的领导群体及她们的个人生活、工作状况并予以研究，所以她们的生活很少被外界所了解。占教会牧师比例达30%、甚至更高的女性教牧人员对中国教会的发展起着不可忽视的作用。出于对女性教牧人员身心健康以及对中国大陆教会发展的关注，作者于2016年5月至2017年5月期间对中国大陆某省基督教会的8位女性牧师做了一项定性叙事研究，并对这些女牧师从以下三个方面进行了采访：1）促成其进入教会工作的原因及因素；2）对目前个人生活及教会布道牧养工作的描述及看法；3）在带领教会过程中遇到的困难和挑战。这项研究表明这些女性牧师步入教会领导及传道事业的表面原因是她们基督教徒母亲们的影响和推动，但20世纪50至70年代间中国特殊的政治、经济及社会条件才是真正的推动因素。被采访的大部分教牧人员觉得自己是一个背负着家庭和教会领导牧养双重负担的母亲。她们在教会领导牧养过程中遇到最大的困难和挑战有三：处理复杂的人际关系、男性领导和事工人员的缺乏以及教会信徒信心的集体薄弱。
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“Double-Burdened Mothers”
A Narrative Inquiry Concerning Women Pastors in Contemporary Protestant Churches in Mainland China
“背负双重负担的母亲们”──一项对中国大陆某省基督新教教会女性牧师的叙事研究
Since its reopening in the late 1970s, the Protestant Church (including both registered and unregistered churches) in mainland China has experienced rapid growth characterized by three conspicuous phenomena: extreme gender disproportion, increased numbers of young intellectual and white-collar converts, and growing numbers of women pastors. In this narrative study conducted between May 2016 and May 2017, the researcher interviewed eight women pastors in Protestant churches in W Province to understand their lives and experiences. This study found that the majority of the participating women pastors stated that they entered Christian ministry because of their mothers’ influence and prompting. On a deeper level, however, their decision can be attributed to the special political, economic, and social circumstances in mainland China during the 1950s–1970s. These women pastors see themselves as “double-burdened mothers” with respect to their families and the congregations. They face the challenges of dealing with complicated interpersonal relationships, a lack of male leaders and workers, and weak faith within their congregations.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 455 | 42 | 2 |
| Full Text Views | 249 | 7 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 98 | 13 | 1 |