Begränsad och befriad : En intervjustudie om unga kvinnors erfarenheter av kvinnliga könsroller i pingströrelsen

Sammanfattning: How the church views the female sex is an ongoing discussion, something that is noticeable in, among other things, the Christian newspaper Dagen, where there has been a recent debate about female leadership and the different or equal characteristics of the sexes. Against the background of this debate, this study is directed toward female gender roles in the Pentecostal movement. The purpose of the study is to contribute to knowledge of young women's experiences of female gender roles in the congregation and the interaction with their individual views on gender. To meet the purpose, nine interviews have been conducted with young women who are active in Pentecostal congregations in southern Sweden. In the result, the informants' views on the gender perspective are first presented. Then follows their experiences of stated and implicit gender roles in religious activities. Finally, the informants' approach to their experiences from the congregation is presented. There is a variety of experiences of female gender roles, but a greater agreement in their general thoughts about gender roles. Being a woman in the congregation is explained both as something neutral and something distinctive, in a positive and negative sense. Overall, the conclusion has been drawn that the gender roles experienced by the informants can be experienced as both liberating and limiting for the individual.