Open Access
Women and Church Ministry in Africa: Removing the Impasse Towards a Fruitful Theological Conversation.
Author(s) -
Patrick Mwania
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
east african journal of traditions, culture and religion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2707-5370
pISSN - 2707-5362
DOI - 10.37284/eajtcr.4.1.465
Subject(s) - gospel , cornerstone , christianity , conversation , politics , christian ministry , sociology , face (sociological concept) , gender studies , church history , political science , environmental ethics , social science , theology , law , history , philosophy , archaeology , communication
Women in Africa, both in the traditional setup and in modern society form the cornerstone of the Church and society. They have spearheaded change in traditional and modern society and heralded the Gospel message on the African soil. Based on the formidable roles women played and the influential areas of authority they occupied in the social, economic, political, and religious dimensions of African traditional societies, such as priestesses, diviners, medicine women etc., I attempt to understand the role women play and the place they occupy in the Church and in society today taking the Catholic Church as a case study. The aim of this paper is to seek to understand the roles women play in society, as well as discerning how the roles could be promoted and improved for the betterment of the Church and society. For the discussion to achieve its objective, the following areas will be addressed: explore the place and the significance that traditional African society accorded to women; investigate the nature of women’s involvement in the life of the community as well as the precise roles that traditional society assigned to women; discover the place of women in Christianity and some of the roles the Catholic Church assigns to women members as documented; understand some of the challenges women face as members of the Church and the roles they play in enhancing the Gospel; and finally attempt to provide some recommendations in response to some of the challenges identified.