Responding to the sacred

In this paper, three dilemmas in liturgical gender-inclusive language are discussed: firstly, if there is any need for gender-inclusive language at all among Christian people; secondly, to what extent gender-inclusive language confirms or challenges binary gender categories; and, thirdly, how queer...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Thomassen, Merete (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Routledge 2021
In: International journal for the study of the Christian church
Year: 2021, Volume: 21, Issue: 3/4, Pages: 301-306
Further subjects:B Liturgical language
B gender-inclusive language
B Queer Theory
B Feminist Theory
B Metaphorical Theology
B Feminist Theology
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:In this paper, three dilemmas in liturgical gender-inclusive language are discussed: firstly, if there is any need for gender-inclusive language at all among Christian people; secondly, to what extent gender-inclusive language confirms or challenges binary gender categories; and, thirdly, how queer theory could be a useful tool to develop a non-binary theological language whilst also recognising the risks this might pose to making women invisible. The dilemmas are illuminated by examples from the discussion of gender-inclusive language in the (Lutheran) Church of Norway over a period of twenty years from a liturgy made for 8th March in 1993 to a comprehensive liturgical reform of the principal Sunday service in 2011. This led to a very moderate use of gendered metaphors, either male or female, in the liturgy. In the Church of Norway, it seems that inclusive language’s most important contribution to theological speech lies in the insights of metaphorical theology. God is neither a man, nor is She a woman, and the theological speech demands a broad variety in metaphors used for God.
ISSN:1747-0234
Contains:Enthalten in: International journal for the study of the Christian church
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/1474225X.2022.2024965