-
Cover
- Indiana University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
In Africa, why have so many more women converted to Christianity than men? What explains the appeal of Christianity to women? Do religious conversion and spirituality serve as sites for the negotiation of gender and ethnic identity? Can religion inspire personal, political, and collective empowerment of women? How does spiritual power articulate with other domains of power? In e Church of Women, Dorothy L. Hodgson explores how gender has shaped the encounter between missionary priests and Maasai men and women in Tanzania. Building on her extensive experience with Spiritan missionaries and Maasai, Hodgson examines how gendered change among Maasai has affected women’s and men’s notions of religious faith, religious practice, and spiritual power. Hodgson looks at the appeal of Catholicism among women in East Africa, the enmeshing of Catholic and Maasai religious beliefs and practices, and the meaning of conversion to new Christians. is rich, engaging, and original book challenges notions about religious encounter and the dominance of political economic understandings of gender. DOROTHY L. HODGSON teaches at Rutgers University, where she is affiliated with the Center for African Studies and the Women’s and Gender Studies Department. She is author of Once Intrepid Warriors: Gender, Ethnicity, and the Cultural Politics of Maasai Development (Indiana University Press) and editor of Gendered Modernities; “Wicked” Women and the Reconguration of Gender in Africa; and Rethinking Pastoralism in Africa. The Church of Women Gendered Encounters between Maasai and Missionaries Dorothy L. Hodgson The Church of Women Hodgson INDIANA African Studies • Religion http://iupress.indiana.edu 1-800-842-6796 : . , ... The Church of Women [3.17.128.129] Project MUSE (2024-04-17 22:23 GMT) The Church of Women INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS BLOOMINGTON AND INDIANAPOLIS Gendered Encounters between Maasai and Missionaries Dorothy L. Hodgson [3.17.128.129] Project MUSE (2024-04-17 22:23 GMT) This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA http://iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders 800-842-6796 Fax orders 812-855-7931 Orders by e-mail iuporder@indiana.edu 2005 by Dorothy L. Hodgson All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.481984 . Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hodgson, Dorothy Louise. The church of women : gendered encounters between Maasai and missionaries / Dorothy L. Hodgson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-253-34568-5 (alk. paper)— ISBN 0-253-21762-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Catholic Church—Missions—Tanzania. 2. Women, Masai—Religious life—Tanzania. 3. Masai (African people)—Tanzania—Religion. 4. Congregation of the Holy Ghost—Missions— Tanzania. I. Title. BV3625.T4H63 2005 266'.2678'082—dc22 2004022320 1 2 3 4 5 10 09 08 07 06 05 For Rick, with love [3.17.128.129] Project MUSE (2024-04-17 22:23 GMT) ...