Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 10:1 (Winter 1996)
Article: A Christian Woman In Academe
Author: Janel M. Cuny-Roper

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PP 10:1 (Winter 1996) p. 9

A Christian Woman In Academe

Janel M. Cuny-Roper

Jan Curry - Roper is associate professor of geography at Central College, Bella, Iowa. She graduated from Bethel College m St. Paul, MN and received her Ph.D. in geography from the University of Minnesota. This article is based on a presentation at the Crossroads Conference, August 18,1994, hosted by Evangelicals for Social Action.

Perhaps some of you have heard or read of Luther’s theology on the Christian in the world and his idea of the dual kingdoms of church and state. I’ve come to believe that a Christian woman in academe is embedded in more than a duality of kingdoms, but a plurality. In this article, I would like to define these worlds or kingdoms as follows: 1) The Kingdom of the Evangelical Church, 2) The Kingdom of our Patriarchal Society, 3) The Kingdom of Feminist Culture and Theory: Those who “Get it”, and 4) The Kingdom of Academe.

The Kingdom Of The Evangelical Church

I was blessed to grow up in an evangelical tradition and family that did not judge me on the basis on my gender. I was always encouraged to use whatever talents I had, for whatever purpose God called me to use them.

My first real encounter with the Kingdom of the Evangelical Church was when, during my junior year, I transferred to Christian college. At one of my first dorm Bible studies I remember being asked what I wanted to be and saying I wanted to be President of the U. S., only to be told that I could not be President because I was a woman. That night my mother assured me over the phone that I could be whatever I wanted to be.

My love for critical thinking and learning led me to get responses (from my floor ILA. again) such as, “Oh, Jan, how will you ever get married?” The message from my R.A. and others was that you must choose between academe or the evangelical women’s subculture. It is a tension that does not go away.

While my husband attended an evangelical seminary and I finished my Ph.D., I was continually bombarded with requests to join the Sem Wives group — Woman Alive. Their main activities included finding their correct complexion and wardrobe “colors” and working on crafts to sell to make “pin money” for Christmas. Then, while teaching part-time at an evangelical college, I remember the relief on my female students’ faces when they found out I was engaged, as if that somehow legitimized my right to teach them or made me a real human being and less of an alien. But those of us who are women in academe can remain alien women within the evangelical community, regardless of marital status. Over the years, as I became more socialized into the academic world, the Evangelical Kingdom became more alien to me and I to it (at least to ...

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