Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 33:1 (Winter 2019)
Article: Preparing For Equality: Perspectives On Christian Marriage
Author: Laura Schilperoort

PP 33:1 (Winter 2019) p. 7

Preparing For Equality: Perspectives On Christian Marriage

Laura Schilperoort

The research resulting in this article focuses on evangelical churches in New Zealand, examining both the practice and content of their pre-marriage counselling sessions. Two competing visions of marriage relations—egalitarianism and complementarianism—representing different interpretations of the Bible are embedded within Christian pre-marriage counselling discourse. Here, sociological research and theology intersect. This article examines how differing interpretations of Scripture shape marriage advice given to engaged couples. The study’s interview participants, whose pseudonyms are John, Stephen, William, Sharon, and married couple Ron and Shivani, are leaders who facilitate pre-marriage counselling within their evangelical churches.

I analyse the participants’ discussion of their personal theology, examining to what extent it shapes their premarital instruction. Theological themes emerged in interviews, including complementarian and egalitarian theologies, evangelicalism, fundamentalism, and its association with destructive beliefs resulting in violence against women. Theological discussion of these themes is situated within a feminist framework, drawing on the comprehensive work of two feminist sociologists who are also theologians—Elaine Storkey and Fran Porter.1

In what follows, I define evangelicalism and fundamentalism, and compare and contrast interviewees’ personal use of Scripture within marriage counselling. Next, I outline complementarian theology, observing both feminism’s historical reaction to it and its association with violence against women. Finally, I examine interviewees’ use of egalitarian theology as well as the arguments of evangelical feminists.

Evangelicalism And Fundamentalism

A definitional haze surrounds the word “evangelical.” Confusion around this term became apparent in the interviews. Evangelicalism is not a denomination; it is a conceptual unity that designates a group of Christians who hold to certain beliefs. According to David Bebbington, four qualities have been the consistent marks of evangelical religion: “conversionism, the belief that lives need to be changed; activism, the expression of the gospel in effort; biblicism, a particular regard for the Bible; and what may be called crucicentrism, a stress on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Together they form a quadrilateral of priorities that is the basis of Evangelicalism.”2

Two interviewees were cautious of the term “evangelical” because they viewed it as associated with fundamentalism. When asked how participants w...