Excluding Women from Church Leadership Dehumanizes Them

What’s the difference between these two theological debates:

1. How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

2. May women teach, preach, and lead in the church?

Photo by Nadine E on Unsplash

The first classic illustration centers on an abstract concept apart from ramifications for human beings.

The other can result in a devastating human impact.

Recently, Jonathan Brenneman shared a Facebook post demonstrating the negative effect on women in churches where they are restricted from leadership.

Below are Jonathan’s thoughts, including bullet points taken from the image on the post:

When women say, “The teaching that women must be silent and cannot lead in church wounded me,” they are not being dramatic.

Suppressing or limiting speech plays a role in dehumanization.

If indigenous language suppression is considered cultural genocide, then what does forbidding women from teaching Scripture do to them?

The Athenian Greek ekklesia only included adult male Athenian citizens. Women, slaves, and non-citizens were excluded. The ideal was “isegoria”-equal right of speech. The assembly opened with the question “Who wishes to speak?” Any member could address the assembly.

But unlike the Greek ekklesia, the Christian ekklesia includes women. It would only make sense that women could not speak or have lesser speaking rights if women were not members of the ekklesia.

Gendered communication studies show that interruption, condescending explanation, and “voice nonrecognition” negatively affect women.

It also found that men were twice as likely to interrupt women as they were to interrupt other men.

Williams’ ostracism research found that being ignored or excluded threatens belonging, self-esteem, control, and meaningful existence.

Bastian and Haslam found that ostracism can make people feel “less human.”

Lind, Kanfer, and Earley’s procedural justice research found that being denied voice makes people experience a process as less fair and less respectful.

Van Prooijen’s autonomy research found that restricted autonomy (such as by being denied meaningful input) increases sensitivity to unfair treatment.

So when a church teaches, “Women must be silent here. Women cannot lead here,” that is not neutral.

It may be defended as order.

But many women experience it as erasure.

And research suggests that the wound is real.

• Exclusion hurts deeply.

Ostracism threatens belonging, self-esteem, control and meaningful existence. (Williams, 2007).

• Exclusion can make people feel less human.

Ostracized people feel less warm, less agentic, and less cognitively open. Bastian and Haslam, 2010).

• Denying voices feels unfair.

When people are denied having a voice, they judge the process as less fair and less respectful (Lind, Kaufer and Earley, 1990).

• Restricted autonomy increases hurt.

People are especially sensitive to unfair treatment when autonomy is restricted (Van Prooijen, 2009).

• Women feel the impact.

Interruption, condescending explanation, and voice nonrecognition harm women in particular (Briggs et al, 2023).

This isn’t just a difference of opinion.

It’s a human impact.

Jonathan’s conclusions demonstrate theology has consequences for real people.

Half the church personally feels the impact of unfair treatment, disrespect, condescension, and nonrecognition due to a theology that claims women may not lead.

Half the church suffers from being ostracized, their voices and agency denied.

Sociological evidence helps expose the complementarian mantra, “equal worth, different roles” for what it is—a disingenuous euphemism designed to uphold male rule.

If we’re honest, we’ll face the question, “Does complementarian theology hurt women?”

Even more importantly, we must ask,

“Is this what Jesus had in mind for his church?”

Jesus, who consistently broke social barriers for women—dare we suggest he is happy with the above outcomes?

Or the Holy Spirit, poured out on both sons and daughters, giver of spiritual gifts—does the Spirit withhold those gifts from women?

And God’s Word: should the handful of difficult-to-interpret Scripture passages used to uphold male “headship” in the church take precedence over the 100+ passages affirming women in leadership roles?

Doing theology is no mere ivory tower exercise. It is an embodied discipline with real-life consequences.

For the sake of our sisters, and for the whole church, let’s stop the damage.

To learn more about women in church leadership, purchase Prophesying Daughters: How Prophetic Ministry and Women in Leadership Strengthen the Church, AND the study guide for under $20. Also available in audio book and eBook!