Women's Roles in the Modern Church

Throughout the history of Christianity the roles of women have been determined by the predominant Christian teachings based on Christian leaders’ interpretation of the Bible. The way people have interpreted the Bible has changed throughout the centuries but what has remained constant is how peoples scriptural knowledge has shaped the way they live their lives. This present day, ever changing through technological advances in all fields and improved global communication has allowed for a rapid exchange of ideas as not known to the world before. The modern age has brought about varying views on how to interpret and apply the Bible to their lives. “Within Protestantism, there have been two major responses to the shifting sands of modern culture: modernism and fundamentalism” (Atwood, 315). These two opposing responses have sparked heated debate in the Christian world and both sides have come to the table armed to the teeth with scriptural passages to support their view. While the range of topics for debate is broad one specific topic that is a common theme in every denomination is the debate on men and women's roles within the church. Within the United States there are many denominations each with differing views on women’s' roles in the church. A microcosm of the church at large in America is the Southern Baptist Convention. While the Southern Baptist Convention is one of the more conservative Christian groups within the United States, it is the single largest Protestant group in America and represents an organization whose policies influence a considerable portion of Christians throughout the world. The current roles of women in the modern church can be understood most clearly by examining the conflict over women's roles in the Southern Baptist Convention. By dissecting the Southern Baptist Convention and varying views on biblical text one can see the battle lines that have been drawn on the issue of women's roles within the modern church.
Christians regardless of denomination base their religious observances and faith in Jesus Christ as given in the texts of what is the present day Canonical bible. Christians glean from scripture principles and examples that shape the way they live their lives. How one interprets scripture then decides what or how they will follow the teachings of the bible varies among Christian faith backgrounds. However, within the Southern Baptist Convention the general consensus is that the Bible is the inerrant word of God and scripture should be interpreted literally. Although there is a general agreement among Southern Baptists that scripture should be interpreted literally one should recognize that among conservative Christian groups “literal” has more than one definition. In Nancy Ammerman's Baptist Battles: Social Change and Religious Conflict in the Southern Baptist Convention, Ammerman divides the Southern Baptist Convention into two main groups the Progressives and the Fundamentalists. Southern Baptists that consider themselves fundamentalist define literal to mean that every word of the Bible should be followed out to the letter. For example a scriptural passage such as the creation account should be considered accurate and true word for word.
And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
Genesis 1:3-8(NIV)

In this passage the Bible says that God created the universe and formed the first stars in two days. Fundamentalists would insist that the word day refers to a twenty-four hour time period and that the word used in the original text yom refers to a single rotation of the earth (twenty-four hours). They would insist that all texts in the Bible should be interpreted absolutely literally and not allegorically. Furthermore, because the Bible is the eternal Word of God, every biblical command is relevant and true for this present day. Understanding how fundamentalists interpret the Bible becomes important when one considers how this affects how the Bible speaks about gender roles in the church. If one is to believe in a word for word interpretation of scriptural texts then a text such as found in the eleventh chapter of the first letter to the Corinthians should still be true and obeyed because it is relevant to the modern church.
Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is just as though her head were shaved. If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.
1 Corinthians 11:3-9(NIV, underline for emphasis)

This text describes a universal hierarchy in which women are created in a role subservient to men. Additionally, women are not independent creations solely for the glorification and pleasure of God but for the service and pleasure of men. It is this fundamentalist interpretation of scripture that limits the ministerial roles available to women and keep women out of positions of authority in the modern church.
Progressives and Moderates within the Southern Baptist Convention take issue with Fundamentalists interpretation of the bible. “They also disliked what they saw as a selective literalism – some sections were conveniently not required to be literal” (Ammerman, 84). Additionally, progressives disdain for the fundamentalist approach to biblical interpretation stems from the fundamentalists application of cultural context for texts that support beliefs that fundamentalists already held to be true. Within the Southern Baptist Convention, clergy are taught to be exegetic in their study of the Bible. Most fundamentalists consider the way they examine the bible to be exegetic because they literally interpret the bible and obey commands word for word. However, when only some commands are followed and others ignored one must question the integrity of a person's belief that the Bible is the inerrant and relevant Word of God (Battle for the Minds). Robinson James, a voice of the moderates, wrote, “an inerrantist will repeatedly conform the Bible to his inerrantist belief. In his hands the Bible is not free -it does not have elbow room-to be anything for him, or say anything to him, which is different from what he has declared the bible to be...moderates criticized fundamentalists for presuming to interpret scripture perfectly when they can not even read the Greek and Hebrew in which the text was written” (Ammerman, 85). Progressives believe that in order to truly understand scripture one has to consider the socio-cultural pretext in which scripture was written to understand principles that make it relevant to the present day. Additionally, the original language and style of scripture should be considered in conjunction with the translation as many times cultural context is lost in translation. All of these differing views on how to interpret the Bible lie at the heart of the debate on women's roles within the church.
Leaders of the fundamentalist movement in the Southern Baptist convention oppose Women's ability to serve in any type of administrative position within the church based on passages of scripture similar to:
A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
1 Timothy 2:11-15(NIV)

Fundamentalists also use texts from 1 Timothy and Titus that outline the qualifications for overseers and deacons within the church and cite the use of masculine terms to describe the leader (Battle for the Minds). In particular, “a deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well” (1 Timothy 3:12, NIV). According to the fundamentalists a literal interpretation of these texts speaks clearly and prohibits women from teaching men and holding administrative roles within the church. However, progressives and moderates of the Southern Baptist Convention believe fundamentalists have missed the point of the Bible.
“Ultimate commitment, they said, to a person Jesus Christ, not to a book. They pointed out that The Word that was with God in the beginning was Christ not the Bible... According to the moderates, the fundamentalists simply miss the point of the gospel by focusing on a book, instead of the person and the message revealed in the book...The test of any interpretation of any scripture was whether it spoke clearly of God's love, as finally revealed in Jesus...Likewise, the test of any doctrine of scripture was whether it was lived.
(Ammerman, 85)

Moderates and Progressives turn to the history of the early church as found in the New Testament citing examples of women functioning as ministers of the faith. “In all of the Gospels, most women are portrayed as effective disciples” (MacHaffie, 5). The apostle Paul names many women as fellow laborers in Christ and even goes as far as calling, “Greet Andronicus and Junia my relatives who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was” (Romans 16:7, NRSV). Progressives accuse fundamentalists of blatantly ignoring clear biblical examples of women serving in positions of authority in the church. They also argue that the passages of scripture found in 1 Timothy and Titus are ambiguous in the original text when specifying what gender could serve as overseers or deacons (Battle for the Minds). Because no restrictions for women leaders are laid out explicitly in the requirements, progressives and moderates argue that women should be allowed to serve in these roles and that the requirements carry generalized ideas that can be applied to both genders (Battle for the Minds).
Although the Southern Baptist Convention serves as an oversight organization for Southern Baptists, the Convention does not have the authority to force compliance with the statements found in the Baptist faith and message at the local church level. Each church is given local autonomy to govern how they conduct the business of their church. However, the Convention does have the ability to enforce its mandates, to a degree, in its institutions such as its Seminaries. This local church autonomy has created a sense of rebellion within the Convention as progressives feel that there may still be a chance to change the official stance of the Convention. This hope for change continues to drive the debate over women serving in the pastorate within the Southern Baptist Convention. It has kept the denomination on the whole united, whereas in other denominations the strict imposition of church hierarchy has caused many splits and the creation of new associations to house dissenters.
The Vatican is the largest religious organization in the world and over half of its members make up all the Christians in the world (MacHaffie, 305). In 1976, the “Vatican made an official statement declaring that women could not be admitted to the priesthood” (MacHaffie, 306). This opposition to female ordination, unlike the opposition in the Southern Baptist Convention, is derived from a strong sense of church tradition and biblical example rather than specific proof texts. The position of the Roman Catholic is more united on the whole because of the central leadership provided by the pope. Although there was dissent among Catholic's over the 1976 declaration, a “papal letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis was issued by Pope John Paul II after the Church of England admitted women to the priesthood...the letter used the full weight of authority to confirm the 1976 Declaration. The position of the Vatican was to be held definitively and all debate was to end” (MacHaffie, 307). While strict observance of the edicts issued by the Vatican must be adhered to by its clergy, the same is not true of its laity. In 1968, Pope Paul VI published a papal pronouncement entitled, Humanae Vitae, which addressed the use of artificial birth control.

Humanae vitae decreed that although procreation is not the only legitimate use of sexuality in a marriage, a couple ought not use artificial means “to render procreation impossible.” The declining birth rate among American Catholics combined with the research of social scientists indicate that this has been a papal pronouncement that has been largely ignored by the laity.
(Atwood, 346)

So while there is a more united stance on women's roles within the the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic church, the inability of the Vatican to adequately subdue dissenters has allowed for the creation of organizations that advocate women's rights (MacHaffie, 306).
Women's roles within the church continues to remain a relevant and controversial issue today. As seen through the Southern Baptist Convention, most opponents of fundamentalism are not willing to break with the organization and maintain their identity as Southern Baptist. The tradition of local church autonomy has given progressives an outlet to allow women to be ordained and serve in the church despite the Convention's 1984 Resolutions. This facade of denominational uniformity on the issue of women's roles within the church is underlined by the seemingly large disconnect with the laity of each denomination. Because of the growing number of women within educational institutions of theology and continued advocacy among moderates and progressives for the acceptance of ordained women in the pastorate, it stands reasonable to assume that the official policy of Christian governing boards will change over time. Molly Marshall, a leader in the progressive movement has this to say about the future roles of women.

The fresh wind of the Spirit in Baptist life today is evident in the influx of women serving on church staffs and the unprecedented number of women graduating from seminary and seeking pastorates. More daunting, yet increasingly more common, is the emergence of women as church planters. Birthing new churches as an expression of their pastoral midwifery, these Baptists are constructing creative new patterns of Christian community. Many of us greet this move as a significant sign of ecclesial renewal; that is, the last barrier to full inclusion is being traversed. In calling women as pastors, churches are finally living out the encompassing implication of our baptismal vows. (Durso, 6)

By examining the Southern Baptist denomination as a pretext for the Christian world at large one may conclude that although women's roles within the church are restricted by fundamentalists, there are progressive and moderate churches that allow and encourage the ordination of called women. Moreover, the continued growth of women clergy will inevitably lead to acceptance of women in the pastorate and eventually cause a re-examination of current denominational resolutions.

Works Cited
Ammerman, Nancy T. Baptist Battles: Social Change and Religious Conflict in the Southern Baptist Convention. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1990.
Atwood, Craig D. Always Reforming: A History of Christianity Since 1300. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2001.
Durso, Pamela R. “Molly Marshall: A Woman of Faith and Courage.”Ministers Council. 2005. American Baptists. 23 November 2009. http://www.ministerscouncil.org/Ministry%20Stories/ MinistryStoryLanding.aspx.
MacHaffie, Barbara J. Her Story. Minneapolis: Ausburg Fortress, 2006.