Sarah’s Sinfulness

Abstract

Early anthropological studies of Pentecostalism and gender, dominated by Latin American and Caribbean ethnography, focused to a large extent on women's conversion and how Pentecostal ideology has limited masculine oppressive behavior and provided women with social community, faith healing, domestic counseling, and so forth. These studies of Pentecostalism have thus been dominated by a focus on women on the one hand and on social community and social change on the other. The primary question asked in these studies has been, does Pentecostalism bring about an increased degree of equality? With the development of the anthropology of Christianity, the focus has shifted to a more thoroughgoing understanding of Christianity as a culture. In this paper I argue that this shift can also stimulate a shift in the way we study equality and gender in Pentecostalism. Instead of looking at men and women's roles, we need to look at the specific idea of egalitarianism that this form of Christianity brings about and how this shapes the way in which gendered difference is articulated. I present a case from Vanuatu, South West Pacific, arguing that we need to look at gendered values, and I suggest a focus on what I call "the charismatic space." Linda Woodhead (2007) has argued that the study of gender in religion always includes the study of relations of power. In anthropological and sociological studies of Pentecostalism and gender, this power perspective has indeed been the dominant one, and the focus has been primarily on men's and women's negotiations of power and leadership. A specific focus on equality/inequality has led us to privilege a perspective on power in studies of gender in Pentecostalism. In this paper I challenge these traditional perspectives and urge for a move away from the focus on men and women's "power struggle" to an analysis of value and gender.In the 1980s and 1990s analyses of the rise of Pentecostalism in Latin America were dominated by classical sociological perspectives on gender and power. Two main questions were asked: why are women so numerically dominant in these churches, and why do men still hold on to leadership positions

¿Quién dijo sumisas? El Pentecostalismo y la mujer gitana luchando contra la violencia de género

“…Muy lejos de la perspectiva de buena parte de los estudios sobre la mujer gitana pentecostal, Hallum define el Pentecostalismo como un movimiento de mujeres dirigido al cambio de su estatus quo, a través de la ruptura de la hegemonía católica en Sud América y de la mejora de su posición en el hogar (Eriksen, 2014;Robbins, 2004;Vasquez, 2003). Una óptica que en el caso de la mujer gitana no se podrá plantear hasta que no se dejen a un lado los estereotipos y prejuicios que invisibilizan su lucha y sus aportaciones a la superación de la violencia.…”

Antropologi Kristianitas

“…Dia berpendapat bahwa antropologi kekristenan harus mengeksplorasi tidak hanya doktrin keagamaan kristianisi sebagai kategori lintas budaya, tetapi juga berbagai struktur dan praktik komunitas gereja yang beragam secara lokal tapi bertujuan mengikat kelembagaannya dalam kesatuan antar-gereja di seluruh dunia (Barker, 2014:173). Pada topik yang berbeda, beberapa sarjana telah mengeksplorasi isu-isu seperti faksionalisme gereja, otoritas, dan masalah gender (Barker, 2014;Eriksen, 2014;Werbner, 2011). Etnografi Courtney Handman di antara Guhu-Samane di Papua Nugini menganalisis perpecahan gereja sebagai akibat dari perbedaan ideologi kebahasaan dan asumsi mengenai bagaimana praktik liturgi dan membaca injil mampu menyebabkan pembagian sosialagama komunitas gereja di antara Guhu-Samane (Handman, 2014:12).…”

Velkommen hjem

“…4 Det la grunnlaget for en kristendom der alle er like for Gud og hvor alle, i teorien, har lik tilgang til ham. Det betyr blant annet at alle kan bli velsignet med nådegaver, for Ånden kjenner ikke forskjell på mann og kvinne, ei fattig og rik (Eriksen, 2014). Dette kalles pinsekristen egalitet, og betyr at åndelige gaver prinsipielt er 1.…”