Date
4-26-2024
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)
Chair
Derwin E. Lewis
Keywords
Role Congruity Theory, Gender Roles, Stained-Glass Ceiling, Image of God, Hermeneutical Phenomenology
Disciplines
Christianity | Leadership Studies
Recommended Citation
Taylor, Michele Lee, "A Phenomenological Study of Female Master of Divinity Graduates' Experiences and Role Incongruity at Texas Baptist Seminaries" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5464.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5464
Abstract
Women pursue Christian education, obeying God’s call to prepare for ministry leadership. This qualitative hermeneutical phenomenological research study aimed to examine the perspectives of women graduates from Master of Divinity (MDiv) programs at Baptist Seminaries in Texas and to discover if their treatment could be linked to traditionally held beliefs about gender. The lived experiences of the study participants were defined as their first-hand accounts and perceptions of interactions with their male classmates and professors. The theory that guided this study was the Role-Congruity Theory, defined by Eagly and Diekman (2005) as aligning a group’s characteristics with their typical social roles. Through interviews and focus group sessions with 14 female Master of Divinity graduates, this researcher discovered the thoughts of the study participants on the continued existence of stereotypes about women and the roles they can fill in the body of Christ from their male peers and professors. Interview and focus group transcripts were analyzed and coded to find common themes encouraging women to follow God’s calling.
