Journal Article

Becoming a 'gospel woman' : agency, youth and gender at a charismatic church in Brighton and Hove, UK

Abstract

This article explores the paradoxical gendering of Charisma in the lives of congregation members at a Charismatic Pentecostal church, the Church of Christ the King (CCK), in Brighton and Hove, UK. Gender is discussed as a ‘Hot Potato’ at CCK, a point of divergence and negotiation, and I show how these dialogues are shaped by specific symbolic and embodied forms of gendered imagination and practice which often operate counter to gender norms outside the church. Looking at the intersection of youth and gender at the church, I show how counter-cultural opposition serves to underwrite a culture of service and submission which buttresses patriarchal authority and cements gendered hierarchies within the church. As I argue, the overlooking of the relationship between religious leadership and gender is being increasingly challenged by the younger generation bringing together self-making processes from both the sacred and secular realm.

Attached files

Authors

Wignall, Ross

Oxford Brookes departments

Department of Social Sciences

Dates

Year of publication: 2023
Date of RADAR deposit: 2021-04-21

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

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