Feminist New Testament Scholarship in South Africa

Abstract

Feminist biblical scholarship in South Africa that focuses on the New Testament cannot be separated from the larger context of feminist scholarship in South Africa or even Africa. Its emergence and development was tied to the emerging consciousness of women and men who began to question the roles of women in family, society, politics and religion, especially Christianity. This happened during the 1980s, thus lagging behind the North-American and European feminist movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Rather later than never! New Testament scholarship in South Africa has contributed to feminist knowledge production. The objective of this article is to provide an understanding of the contributions by feminist and female scholarship in the New Testament Society of Southern Africa by focusing on completed doctoral theses at South African universities and theological seminaries, and feminist research produced by females and males published in Neotestamentica, the official journal of the New Testament Society of Southern Africa. The purpose is to determine the New Testament feminist themes and knowledge that have been produced; to identify obstacles that might have influenced or might influence feminist New Testament scholarship; to determine possible research areas; and to discuss the future of feminist scholarship in the New Testament Society of Southern Africa.