Abstract:
Masculinity, Decision-Making and Gender in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG)
Masculine dominance at the decision-making positions of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana may no longer be the case unlike the indigenous socio-cultural setting. This thesis joins the conversation in the religious-social sciences about masculinity, decision-making and gender roles in the church. The research explored some literary appraisals about the theories and concepts of masculinities and other stereotypical publications to come to terms with gender roles. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the underlying prevalence of dominating male persuasive norms at the decision-making positions and also discuss ways of dealing with such tendencies in the church. The thesis was conducted in the Ga Presbytery of the PCG in the Greater Accra region. Adopting a qualitative process, the data for the research was gathered through the administration of interview guide for the data collected. Twenty-two ministers comprising twelve males and ten females participated in the research. These data supported the view that patriarchal influential legacies in the church’s decision-making positions still remain, yet the front of hegemonic masculinity has been broken. Ministerial roles are played interchangeably; female ministers are occupying roles as local session heads, district ministers, presbytery chairpersons, and presbytery clerks. This phenomenon is as a result of the church’s constitutional orders and the ordination of females into the ministry though the female ministers suffer some forms of abuse from their male counterparts.
