Factors influencing the role of women in Christian ministries in the Chinese Church

Since the 1970s, the number of Chinese women receiving theological training comparable to that of men has increased significantly. However, Chinese churches have been slow to recognize their calling to career ministry and to believe in their possible contribution to the total service of the church. A closer examination reveals that the issues these women encounter as they seek to fulfill their roles in career ministries are influenced not only by biblical and theological factors, but particularly by cultural factors.; This study uses an interdisciplinary approach--theological, historical and anthropological--to analyze how the interplay of theological and cultural factors has influenced the development of and attitudes toward the place and role of women in the Chinese Church. A review of literature on feminist biblical interpretations and traditional theological perspectives on current issues affecting the role of women in ministry provides a positive theological framework for discussion in its interaction with Chinese cultural factors.; The historiographic method is used for research into primary and secondary sources on the changing status and role of women in the Chinese historical sociocultural context. These materials provide insights into the development of the Confucian gender ideology and its impact on the Chinese people. Extensive research into primary sources sheds light on how Western women missionaries with their Christian and cultural ideals impacted on the gender role of Chinese women throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. They have also influenced the roles and forms of ministries which Chinese women were encouraged to undertake both in secular society and within the church.; In the light of the interplay of these theological and cultural factors, analyses and discussions are made on the data gathered from research surveys and from personal interviews with Chinese women in career ministry both in Asia and in the West. This study concludes with a discussion of the crucial pragmatic issues on women's roles in ministries that have surfaced in the 20th century, with specific recommendations for developing a holistic view of Christian ministry for women in the Chinese Church.