Using a Feminist Interpretation of the Bible’s Book of Ruth to Address Taiwanese Female Pastors’ Financial Autonomy and Self-Esteem

Yu-Fen Lin

doi:10.4236/psych.2018.99134

Abstract

This study used Ruth’s story in the Bible and reinterpreted it with feminist theological perspectives to address the related issues of Taiwanese female pastors’ economic independence and autonomy. This study explored the phenomenological and contextual world of 27 female pastors’ mental wellness and specifically how they deal with the hardship of financial inequality when living in a culturally patriarchal society and serving within the male dominant church system. Four themes were generated to report these female pastors’ shared experiences through qualitative method. Counseling applications were provided and discussed in this article.

Highlights

In this study, the Bible’s story of Ruth was used and interpreted in feminist theological perspectives to address the related issues of Taiwanese female pastors’ economic independence and autonomy and their mental wellness living within a culturally patriarchal society and male dominant church system
This study explored the phenomenological and contextual world of 27 female pastors’ mental wellness and how they deal with the hardship of financial inequality when living in a culturally patriarchal society and serving within the male dominant church system
In order to increase the trustworthiness of the study, these themes were triangulated from both the commentaries and the data obtained from the focus support groups

Summary

Introduction

The Bible’s story of Ruth was used and interpreted in feminist theological perspectives to address the related issues of Taiwanese female pastors’ economic independence and autonomy and their mental wellness living within a culturally patriarchal society and male dominant church system. The Equal Pay Act that President John F. Kennedy signed in 1963 prohibited gender-based wage discrimination Francine and Lawrence (2007) wrote that discrimination and gender pay gap still continue to exist. Sandberg (2013) further reported that women earned an average of 0.77 for every $1.00 men made in 2010.

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion