Transforming Masculinities in African Christianity

Studies of gender in African Christianity have usually focused on women. This book draws attention to men and constructions of masculinity, particularly important in light of the HIV epidemic which has given rise to a critical investigation of dominant forms of masculinity. These are often associated with the spread of HIV, gender-based violence and oppression of women. Against this background Christian theologians and local churches in Africa seek to change men and transform masculinities. Exploring the complexity and ambiguity of religious gender discourses in contemporary African contexts, this book critically examines the ways in which some progressive African theologians, and a Catholic parish and a Pentecostal church in Zambia, work on a ‘transformation of masculinities’.

Author Biography

Adriaan S. van Klinken is Lecturer in African Christianity at the University of Leeds, UK. He holds a PhD from Utrecht University in the Netherlands (2011) and was, until recently, a postdoctoral research fellow at SOAS, University of London, UK. His research focuses on issues of gender, sexuality and public life in African Christianities and theologies, particularly on questions of masculinity and of homosexuality. His work in this area has been published in academic journals such as Journal of Religion in Africa, Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, Journal of Gender and Religion in Africa, Journal of Homosexuality, Religion and Gender, Exchange, Missionalia and CrossCurrents.