“There’s theology and then there’s the people I love. . .”: Authority and Ambivalence in Seminarians’ Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Relationships, Marriage, and Ordination

Drawing from 102 in-depth interviews conducted with first-year Master of Divinity (M.Div.) students at a Mainline Protestant seminary, this paper examines how students describe and account for their positions on homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy. We found...

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Détails bibliographiques
Auteurs: Johnston, Erin F. ca. 20./21. Jh. (Auteur) ; Holleman, Anna (Auteur) ; Krull, Laura M. (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
Vérifier la disponibilité: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Publié: 2024
Dans: Sociology of religion
Année: 2024, Volume: 85, Numéro: 3, Pages: 298-323
Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés:B USA / Protestant / Étudiant en théologie / Embauche / Ambivalence / Homosexualité / LGBT / Autorité / Bibel / Dieu / Expérience / Histoire 2019-2021
Classifications IxTheo:AD Sociologie des religions
AE Psychologie de la religion
CH Christianisme et société
FB Formation théologique
HA Bible
KAJ Époque contemporaine
KBQ Amérique du Nord
KDD Église protestante
NBC Dieu
NBE Anthropologie
NCF Éthique sexuelle
TK Époque contemporaine
Accès en ligne: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Résumé:Drawing from 102 in-depth interviews conducted with first-year Master of Divinity (M.Div.) students at a Mainline Protestant seminary, this paper examines how students describe and account for their positions on homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy. We found that students on “both sides”—i.e., those who lean affirming and those who lean non-affirming—invoked three primary authorities in their accounts: Biblical authority, Godly authority, and the authority of lived experience, as demonstrated in the lives of gay and lesbian people. We also found that nearly one-third of the students in our sample expressed uncertainty, ambivalence, and/or contradictions in their responses. Through a close analysis of these accounts, we show that ambivalence and uncertainty are rooted in attempts to navigate and “reconcile” the pulls of these different authorities and that attitudinal certainty is often accomplished by privileging one authority over others.
ISSN:1759-8818
Contient:Enthalten in: Sociology of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1093/socrel/srad040