The changing roles of women in the Seventh-Day adventist church in Monze district

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Date
2011-07-21
Authors
Hazemba, Mahuba Wesley Halubobya
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Abstract
This study is an historical enquiry into the changing roles of women in the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church in Monze District of Southern Zambia from 1905 - 1998. We argue that before the penetration of Christianity women in Tonga society were playing leading roles in Tonga traditional religion. The penetration of Christianity diminished belief in Tonga traditional religion. Christianity brought with it a structure of written and unwritten policies that subordinated women. It was only female teachers who were given leadership roles as evangelists in the out schools they taught. In all other structures of the Church's organisation there were no women leaders until the late 1980s. The Dorcas Mothers Society after 1955 became the basic unit in which the women in the SDA Church expressed themselves. We further argue that after the 1985 General Conference Session gender struggle in the SDA Church became evident in the developed world. Women now began to fight for rights to preach, lead and be ordained in the Church. In Zambia a class of women is slowly emerging that questions the denial of these rights,which women have enjoyed in the developed world. The research also reveals that the Church has generally failed to send women for theological training and where it did so, it failed to retain these in it's ranks. This failure by the Church has further denied women leadership positions of decision making in the Church's various structures as these are dominated by qualified pastors. The introduction of the Women's Ministry in 1996 was mishandled by the Church's Leadership and as a result there is tension in the Church between the Women's Ministry department and the Dorcas Mothers Society.
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Seventh-Day Adventist -- Monze -- Zambia , Women and religion -- Monze -- Zambia , Women in church work -- Monze -- Zambia , Women christianity -- Monze -- Zambia
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