How can a theological understanding of liberation better inform and improve the development work of faith-based organisations and churches in Chin Sta

对解放的神学理解如何更好地指导和改进钦斯塔信仰组织和教会的发展工作

• 批准号: 2280215
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Edinburgh
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2280215
• 关键词: How; theological; understanding; liberation; better

My PhD research aims to critique Asian feminist theology from the standpoint of Zomi women in Chin State, north-west Myanmar. An interdisciplinary project, I combine ethnography with theology in order to move towards the construction of a Zomi women's theology.The Zomi are a predominantly Christian ethnic minority in Chin State, Myanmar, existing in precarious tension with the federal Burmese-Buddhist state. Approximately 85% of the Zomi identify as Christian, making them Myanmar's largest Christian ethnic minority. With a poverty rate of 73%, Chin State is also the poorest region in the country. Difficult terrain, poor infrastructure, and unstable ethnoreligious relations further inhibit the region's development. Zomi women occupy a second-class position in society, reinforced through social institutions, norms, and cultural values. Strict gender roles confine women to domestic and caring duties and they are often excluded from decision-making. Schooling levels for girls are substantially lower than boys, revealing a gender hierarchy that prioritises men and limits women. Although some women do pursue vocations, societal expectations mean they still undertake all domestic labour alongside their paid work. This gender inequality is also unfortunately replicated in the churches through teaching and practice. Asian feminist theology articulates Christian ways of thinking to address the specific issues faced by Asian women. Contextual in nature and liberative in aim, Asian feminist theologians privilege the lives and experiences of Asian women as foundational to their theology. Their stories are woven together with indigenous practices and new understandings of Scripture and doctrine, resulting in a theology uniquely for and from Asian women. The dominant Asian feminist theologians are situated in South Korea, Hong Kong, the Philippines and India and, thus far, there is no Asian feminist theology from the Zomi context. The highly contextualised nature of Asian feminist theology prevents it from being easily translated across countries and cultures. Factors such as the significant economic, social and religious differences between countries like South Korea, the Philippines, and Myanmar, reveal the need for a Zomi women's theology. Other critical issues demanding close analysis include the ethnoreligious tensions between the state and the Zomi and the severe poverty in Chin State which all undoubtedly impact the way Zomi women relate to the divine. My research will explore in-depth the theologies and faith lives of Christian Zomi women. I am interested in discovering how life in this context has shaped the ways in which they understand and experience their faith. My project will offer constructive proposals for Asian feminist theology to be contextualised for the lived experiences of Zomi women in order that it remains uplifting and liberating for Christian Asian women.The absence of literature on the topic and the strong oral tradition in Zomi culture necessitate the use of social-scientific methodologies. I will undertake 6-8 months of fieldwork in Chin State. Using a combination of participant observation, one-to-one interviews and small focus groups, I aim to uncover the theological reflections of Zomi women and learn how their faith helps them navigate life in the most undeveloped region of Myanmar. My findings from the field will then be brought into conversation with the works of Asian feminist theologians in order to assess the relevance and applicability of mainstream Asian feminist theology to the Zomi context. My research will be the first to privilege the thoughts and stories of poor, marginalised Zomi women who have long been overlooked. It will also contribute to the scholarship on Christianity in Myanmar, and minority peoples in Myanmar, highlighting the gendered nature of the interplay between faith, nationalism, and identity within a context of ethnoreligious tension, mass poverty, and inequality.

我的博士研究旨在从缅甸西北部钦邦的佐米妇女的角度批判亚洲女权主义神学。作为一个跨学科项目，我将民族志与神学结合起来，以期构建佐米妇女神学。佐米人是缅甸钦邦的一个以基督教为主的少数民族，与缅佛联邦国家关系紧张。大约 85% 的佐米人信仰基督教，这使他们成为缅甸最大的基督教少数民族。钦邦的贫困率为73%，也是该国最贫困的地区。地势险要、基础设施落后、民族宗教关系不稳定，进一步制约了该地区的发展。佐米女性在社会中占据二等地位，这种地位通过社会制度、规范和文化价值观得到强化。严格的性别角色将妇女限制在家务和照顾职责上，她们常常被排除在决策之外。女孩的受教育程度远低于男孩，揭示了男性优先、女性限制的性别等级制度。尽管一些女性确实追求职业，但社会期望意味着她们在有酬工作之外仍然承担所有家务劳动。不幸的是，这种性别不平等也通过教导和实践在教会中得以复制。亚洲女权主义神学阐明了基督教的思维方式来解决亚洲女性面临的具体问题。亚洲女权主义神学家本质上是情境性的，目标是解放性的，他们将亚洲女性的生活和经历视为其神学的基础。她们的故事与本土习俗以及对圣经和教义的新理解交织在一起，形成了亚洲女性独有的神学。占主导地位的亚洲女权主义神学家分布在韩国、香港、菲律宾和印度，迄今为止，还没有佐米背景下的亚洲女权主义神学。亚洲女权主义神学的高度语境化性质使其难以在不同国家和文化之间轻松翻译。韩国、菲律宾和缅甸等国家之间显着的经济、社会和宗教差异等因素揭示了佐米妇女神学的必要性。其他需要仔细分析的关键问题包括国家与佐米人之间的民族宗教紧张关系以及钦邦的严重贫困，这些无疑都影响了佐米妇女与神的关系。我的研究将深入探讨基督教佐米女性的神学和信仰生活。我有兴趣发现这种背景下的生活如何塑造了他们理解和体验信仰的方式。我的项目将为亚洲女权主义神学提供建设性的建议，将其与佐米女性的生活经历结合起来，以便它继续为亚洲基督教女性带来振奋和解放。由于缺乏有关该主题的文献以及佐米文化中强大的口头传统，因此需要使用社会科学方法。我将在钦邦进行 6-8 个月的实地考察。通过结合参与观察、一对一访谈和小型焦点小组，我的目标是揭示佐米妇女的神学反思，并了解她们的信仰如何帮助她们在缅甸最不发达的地区度过生活。然后，我在该领域的发现将与亚洲女权主义神学家的著作进行对话，以评估主流亚洲女权主义神学与佐米背景的相关性和适用性。我的研究将是第一个关注长期被忽视的贫困、边缘化佐米女性的想法和故事的研究。它还将为缅甸基督教和缅甸少数民族的学术研究做出贡献，强调在民族宗教紧张、大规模贫困和不平等的背景下信仰、民族主义和身份之间相互作用的性别本质。