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Nyengele - African Women's Theology, Gend PDF

363 Pages·2002·16.8 MB·English
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AFRICAN WOMEN’S THEOLOGY, GENDER RELATIONS, AND FAMILY SYSTEMS THEORY: DIRECTIONS FOR PASTORAL CARE AND COUNSELING A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Claremont School of Theology In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Mpyana Fulgence Nyengele May 2002 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Permission to quote and/or reproduce the following copyrighted materials is gratefully acknowledged: Quotes, including the play song about Fatima, from Daughters of Anowa: African Women and Patriarchy by Mercy Amba Oduyoye. Copyright O 1995 by Orbis Books. Used by permission of Orbis Books. The poem “Dream Girl Dream” by Mercy Amba Oduyoye. Reproduced from Inhereting our Mothers' Gardens: Feminist Theology in Third World Perspective edited by Letty M. Russell, Kwok Pui-lan, Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz and Katie Geneva Cannon. Copyright O 1988 Letty M. Russell. Used by permission of Westminter John Knox Press. “The story of Aliviza” and other quotes from Musimbi R. A. Kanyoro, “The Challenge of Feminist Theologies,” in In Search of a Round Table: Gender, Theology and Church Leadership, ed. Musimbi R.A. Kanyoro. Copyright O 1997 by WCC Publications for Lutheran World Federation. Reproduced with permission of WCC Publications. The story of Marie-Louise Kasongo Mujinga Kinyembo. Reproduced from Bernadette Mbuy-Beya, “Women in the Churches in Africa,” in The African Synod: Documents, Reflections, Perspectives. Compiled and edited by Africa Faith and Justice Network under the direction of Maura Browne. Copyright O 1996 by Orbis Books. Reproduced by permission of Orbis Books. 0 2002 Mpyana Fulgence Nyengele ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation, written by Mpyana Fulgence Nyengele under the direction of his Faculty Committee, and approved by its members, has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of the Claremont School of Theology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Faculty Committee 7Chairperson j I'o^ Date * Dean Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT African Women’s Theology, Gender Relations, and Family Systems Theory: Directions for Pastoral Care and Counseling Mpyana Fulgence Nyengele This dissertation is concerned with the fact that no African pastoral theological work to date analyzes family systems theory, African families, the church, and pastoral theology utilizing African women’s theological examination of gender relations and women’s status in African societies. Since African women theologians have noted that African women are oppressed by gender-based norms that marginalize them in family, church, and society, it is this dissertation’s contention that pastors and pastoral counselors need to utilize gender analysis in pastoral caregiving. As such, they need a gender-sensitive pastoral caregiving paradigm that responds adequately to the vital areas of pastoral needs created by gender injustice. A critical examination of family systems theory using African women’s theological analysis of gender relations indicates that selected aspects of family systems theory and therapy are an effective framework and tool for responding adequately to gender problems identified by African women theologians. The task of this dissertation is therefore threefold. First, this dissertation brings gender relations from the margins to the center of African pastoral theological concern and focus. Second, it examines major themes in African women’s theology, highlighting the identified problems in gender relations. Third, this dissertation analyzes family systems theory showing, for example, how the Bowenian concept of the differentiation of Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. the self, the structural notion of clearly defined boundaries, and the contextual construct of relational justice can be used in the care for gender problems. Maintaining that the triune God is the archetype of all healthy relationships and true human community, this dissertation proposes the theological image of perichoresis (the notion that describes relations of mutuality and reciprocity within the triune God), in conjunction with family systems theory and African women’s theology, as an evocative image for gender-sensitive pastoral care and counseling. Pastoral interventions based on this model promote gender consciousness and a new community in which there is no gender inequality; nor is there any colonization of woman by man, and vice versa. Such a perichoretic community fosters relationships without domination, subordination, or violence. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are a number of persons who have made the writing of this dissertation possible. I thank the staff of the Claremont School of Theology Library for graciously allowing me to use important library resources at a distance from Delaware, Ohio. I am also grateful to the staff of the Methodist Theological School in Ohio Library for their help with interlibrary loans. They were tremendously helpful whenever I needed a source from another library. Thanks to my dissertation committee, Drs. Kathleen Greider, Karen Baker- Fletcher, and William Clements for their strong guidance. They offered ideas and feedback which greatly helped me to sharpen my arguments. I am especially indebted to Dr. Kathleen Greider, the chairperson of my committee, for challenging me again and again to think more deeply and to engage more critically all the sources used in my work. Thanks to Elaine Walker, thesis secretary, for being helpful to me with dissertation form and style issues. I also thank many friends and colleagues whose questions, comments, and insights stimulated my thinking and writing. Thanks to Dr. Omar Lee Hartzler (Mupendakazi) for his interest, support, and Christian example. He opened for me some doors that I was not able to reach. At the beginning and during my Ph.D. studies and dissertation writing, I was involved in a variety of ministries in congregational, clinical, and academic settings. I am thankful for having served at Wilshire United Methodist Church in Los Angeles; the Haitian United Methodist Mission in San Diego, California; Malibu United Methodist Church in Malibu, California; the Clinebell Institute for Pastoral Counseling at Claremont, California; and my clinical pastoral education (CPE) work at the Crystal iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. My experience of community in these various settings, coupled with my formative experience of church life and work in my native Democratic Republic of Congo, has profoundly shaped my thinking and deepened my hope in the role of the church in bringing about personal and social change. Further, I am grateful for having had the opportunity to teach family systems theory and therapy, while I was writing this dissertation, to Master of Arts in Counseling Ministries and Master of Divinity students at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio. The assumed relevance of family systems theory in addressing gender conflicts and other relationship problems received considerable testing as I taught the material. Thanks, as well, to my parents, the Reverend Andre Ngoy Nyengele and Dorothee Mbuyu Kyungu, whose faith and love have marked me and supported me through the years. Nafwija bikatampe. I am also grateful to my brothers, sisters, cousins, and uncles for their care and warmth, even at a distance. Bwana i kintu kya buleme. Finally, a word of thanks to my immediate family. I thank Hilde, my best friend and wife, for being a conversation partner on many of the issues discussed in this dissertation. She listened, questioned, and helped me to clarify what I wanted to say. Hilde also provided me with the time and motivation to finish this dissertation. I could not have completed it without her support—Aksante saana. I also am grateful to my son Hippolyte (Polly) for teaching me about the grace of playing, even though he must have wondered sometimes why, when he wanted to play with me, I was so seriously focused on a computer screen. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page 1. Introduction and Overview..................................................................................1 Rationale of the Study.....................................................................................1 Stating the Problem......................................................................................1 Statement of the Thesis and Outline of the Argument...............................3 Definitions/Discussion of Terms.....................................................................7 Methodology...................................................................................................10 Scope and Limitations....................................................................................11 Review of Closely Related Literature............................................................12 Introduction of Major Theoretical Resources Used in the Argument.........................................................................................24 Introductory Comments.............................................................................24 Central Themes of African Women’s Theology.......................................25 Family Systems Theory: A Brief Analysis...............................................30 Central Themes and Philosophical Commitments...............................30 Major Theoretical Orientations............................................................32 Critiques of and Responses to Family Systems Theory and African Women’s Theology..................................................36 Contribution of the Dissertation....................................................................41 Chapter Outlines............................................................................................42 2. African Women’s Theology: Gender Dynamics in the Family.......................45 Introduction and General Considerations.....................................................45 Gender Dynamics in the African Family and Society..................................50 V Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Preliminary Remarks.............................................................................50 Recurring Themes..................................................................................51 Male Domination of Family Relations............................................51 Cultural Expectations of Marriage and Motherhood...........................................................................53 Gender Factors in Women’s Mental Health....................................60 Unequal Distribution of Work in the Household............................63 Discrimination in Education and Economics..................................69 Violence Against Women and the Issue of Women’s Silence.....................................................................74 Neglect of Women’s Individuality..................................................86 Concluding Remarks......................................................................................96 3. African Women’s Theology: Gender Dynamics in Church and Theology..................................................................................................98 Introduction.....................................................................................................98 Recurring Themes..........................................................................................99 Women’s Roles and Images in the African Church.................................99 Dealing with Women’s Pain and Suffering in the Church....................113 Women’s Marginalization in Theological Education and Church Leadership....................................................120 The Neglect of Women’s Issues in African Theology...........................................................................125 Concluding Remarks......................................................................................136 Critical Assessment of Some Aspects of African Women’s Theology . . 137 4. Family Systems Theory and the Concerns of African Women Theologians..................................................................147 Introduction..................................................................................................147 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Bowenian Theory and Therapy..................................................................149 Theoretical Assumptions/General Observations........................................149 Basic Concepts.......................................................................................153 Differentiation of Self........................................................................155 Emotional Triangle...........................................................................168 Multigenerational Transmission.....................................................171 Emotional System.............................................................................175 Contextual Family Theory and Therapy..................................................181 General Considerations.........................................................................181 Discussion of Basic Concepts..............................................................185 Objectifiable Facts............................................................................186 Individual Psychology or Needs......................................................188 Systems of Transactional Patterns or Power Alignments 189 Relational ethics: The Balance of Fairness......................................191 Summary.............................................................................................197 Structural Family Theory and Therapy......................................................197 General Observations...........................................................................197 Characteristics and/or Concepts of Structural Family Therapy...............................................................204 Distribution of Power.......................................................................204 Flexibility and Boundaries...............................................................206 Enmeshment and Disengagement....................................................207 The Role of the Structural Therapist...............................................209 Concluding Remarks.............................................................................214 vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

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