What Shapes Ambivalence towards ‘Feminism’ amongst the Clergy?

Abstract

In 1994 the Church of England ordained its first women priests and since 2014 women clergy have been appointed as bishops, a senior role in the Church’s ordained hierarchy. However, their acceptance into these roles has been highly ambivalent. How ambivalence manifests and the role of deeper beliefs about gender in the Church is under-researched, especially in understanding the positions of male clergy who oppose women’s ordination. This article draws on data sets from two separate projects conducting semi-structured interviews with both men and women in ordained ministry and compares the ambivalence towards feminism held by female clergy and theologically conservative male clergy. The argument unpacks how institutional and cultural factors intersect with tradition-specific beliefs to generate highly ambivalent views about feminism as a movement. The conclusion suggests ways feminism is mythologised and used to reframe conservative male clergy as vulnerable and as potential victims of misandry.