Spousal Violence Among World Christians: Silent Scandal

Description

This book takes a global approach to violence between husbands and wives in faith contexts. Focusing primarily on Christians, the book uses anthropological, theological and historical methods, which intersect with, and are challenged by, lay and ordained women and men from sixteen countries. Focusing on marital violence, the book explores ways to understand how various churches, their priests, preachers, theologians and members, approach the topic, interpret the texts, and, with often thoughtless complicity, hide from the sin. Drawing on over a decade researching marital violence in Christian contexts across five continents, Elizabeth Koepping, an anthropologist and priest, presents testimonies from abused women, as well as theological and cultural justifications for spousal abuse employed by perpetrators and bystanders. She argues that if violence against the (female) spouse is understood as proper behaviour by manly men towards unruly wives, Christians may set aside the core text 'Men and women are made in the Image of God', enabling and silently colluding in abuse. The book shows that spousal abuse is an ecumenical phenomenon present all over the inhabited world, and therefore in all Christian churches and indeed other faith traditions.

Elizabeth Koepping is an Honorary Fellow in the School of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh, UK. She is the editor of the four volume work World Christianities (2011), and author of Food, Friends and Funerals (2008).

This book is a bold statement on how violence against wives cannot, against all reported evidence, be biblically legitimized and is a violation of men and women as the image of God. With a truly global approach through her research, the author clearly demonstrates how pervasive the support of Christian theologies in history and in present times is for disciplining wives to being beaten and physically violated. * Marina Ngursangzeli Behera, Research Tutor & MPhil Stage Leader, Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, Oxford University, UK * 'Elizabeth Koepping's book is the fruit of a life-long academic and personal commitment to gender justice. In this multi-sited, global study we are introduced to theological arguments and critical readings regarding men's violence towards women at a grassroots level, far from lofty declarations at international conferences. It is a timely and unsettling book.' * Kajsa Ahlstrand, Professor of World Christianity, Uppsala University, Sweden *