ArcaMax

A study of 5,459 U.S. adults released earlier this year by the Survey Center on American Life reveals an upward trend of young women leaving the church. This has caught the attention of researchers since more men than women have abandoned their childhood faith over the past 20 years. Now Gen Z women, particularly those ages 18 to 24, are walking out of churches that are considered more conservative and fundamentalist in their teachings. For the millennials, Gen Xers and baby boomers included in the sample size, men still held a slight lead over women who no longer attend church.

When characterizing conservative and fundamentalist congregations, a lot of the focus is on evangelical churches in the South. Many Southern evangelicals are known for adhering to what religious scholars term "gender hierarchies," where women submit to male leadership and are restricted to traditional roles of teaching Sunday school or overseeing hospitality ministries. This is how many young people are still brought up in some evangelical settings, and many Gen Z women clash with this church doctrine because they want to speak out on cultural and societal issues they deem important. Women being told they cannot aspire to or be called by God to leadership positions in the church is not biblically based.

This misconstrued viewpoint on women's church roles is often linked to what is considered one of the most controversial scriptures, which is 1 Corinthians 14:34, where the Apostle Paul wrote, "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law." Verse 35 ends by saying, "... it is a shame for women to speak in the church."

Careful study of these verses, however, shows that Paul was referring to the order of worship service during the judgment of prophecies that he had instructed Corinthian believers to observe. Women were not prohibited from speaking in church, as they prayed and prophesied during specific times of assembly worship. While women who are teaching Sunday school in more conservative churches today are not being completely silenced, oftentimes these verses are referenced when it comes to prohibiting them from ministry in higher administrative levels.

As I have been in church all my life, I have always found the debate regarding women in ministry quite odd considering that from New Testament accounts they were among Jesus' most devoted followers, and He bestowed grace upon them and affirmed their worth. Two stories that exemplify the latter are Jesus' interactions with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1-30) and the woman caught in adultery by the scribes and Pharisees (John 8:3-11). The Samaritan woman was an outcast in her community due to having had five husbands and living with a man whom she was not married to. Her meeting with Jesus restored her soul and her dignity, as she ran into the city proclaiming, "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?"

Jesus refused to condemn the woman caught in adultery and pricked the consciences of the male religious leaders who tried to shame her by boldly declaring, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

Paul also highly praised the work of women who assisted him in ministry, notably Priscilla and Phoebe in Romans 16. Lydia, who was a wealthy businesswoman, opened her house to Paul while he was traveling through Philippi, a city that was located in East Macedonia.

I cannot help but think that there has been a huge disconnect with teaching the noteworthy accomplishments of women in the Bible to many Gen Z women who have left the church. It also appears from reading recent studies that these young women were taught merely to heed rules and regulations without emphasizing the significance of a life-changing encounter with Christ. Gen Zers do not want dull and dry religion; rather, they desire a purposeful connection with their faith and their communities. Many Gen Z women could forge a similar path in ministry like Priscilla, Phoebe and Lydia. It is discouraging that some churches won't allow them to do so.

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Dr. Jessica A. Johnson is a lecturer in the English department at Ohio State University's Lima campus. Email her at smojc.jj@gmail.com. Follow her on X: @JjSmojc. To find out more about Jessica Johnson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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