Survey of Clergy of the Presbyterian Church In Taiwan Regarding Attitudes about Equal Rights of Women and Men

In general, clergy in specialized ministries (working for church agencies instead of in parishes) had a higher rate of seeing gender inequality.  Younger clergy saw inequality more than older clergy.  The co-relationship between age of respondent and perception of inequality was most pronounced among Aboriginal respondents. Female clergy perceived inequality more than male clergy. 

From a standpoint of faith, clergy in general felt that Christian faith calls for equality (71.8%). Male clergy reported gender equality at higher rates than did female clergy.

Questions of satisfaction about men and women who have participated in church decision making bodies were asked, more than 60% reported being highly satisfied or satisfied.  35% said they were dissatisfied.  Aborigines reported the highest levels of satisfaction.  Younger clergy had higher levels of dissatisfaction. Male clergy were more satisfied than female. 

When asked whether or not they would approve of a congregation calling a woman to be their pastor, 82.7% approved. 3.5% disapproved and 11.5%had no opinion.  Younger respondents had higher levels of approval than older.  Women were more approving of calling a woman to be a pastor than were men.

When asked if they would encourage a young woman to consider entering the ministry, 84% of the clergy approved, 3.6% disapproved and 10.2% gave no opinion.  All of the women and most of the younger respondents approved of the idea.

On the topic of the gender balance of elders in sessions, whether this should or should not be mandated, most of the clergy were in favor of letting it develop naturelly take its course.  They noted that the percentage of women elected to sessions increases every year, and believed that this will eventually outstrip the percentage of males serving on sessions.  Clergy in specialized ministries were most insistent on increasing the proportion of women among the church’s elders.  No respondent called for a higher proportion of males than currently prevails.  The younger the clergy, the more feel that there must be more women on the sessions.  Ethnicity did not significantly alter this phenomenon, although among Aboriginal respondents there was a call for more men to be among the elders.  The 1998 annual statistics of the PCT indicate that in Aboriginal churches there are more women than men among the membership.  The number of women on the sessions of Aboriginal churches is also comparatively high.  Clergy responding to the survey said there was a need to increase the number of men among the elders of Aboriginal churches.

When questioned regarding their agreement or disagreement with a proclamation of equal rights between men and women, 85% of respondents were in agreement.  Those serving in specialized ministries had the highest rate of agreement.  Younger clergy were more in agreement than elder, and women more than men.

When asked whether they had made their opinion about equal rights of men and women known, of the 723 who agreed with the concept, only 73.4% had let anyone know.  Again, the specialized ministers were most forthcoming, and younger clergy were more likely than elder clergy to speak out on the topic.

Female clergy serving in parishes, when asked whether or not they received biased treatment, 61.4% reported no such problem.  However 33.3% said that bias still exists in the church.  Specialized ministers feel that women in parish ministry receive bias at a much higher rate than do parish clergy.  Younger clergy see more bias, women also have a higher tendency than men to perceive bias.

In discussion of relations between the sexes, mutual respect and recognition is seen as the most important factor in all encounters, such as co-workers meetings, assemblies, etc.  Gender equality must first work by education before there will be change in regulations or general reform.  Clergy learn gender equality mostly through reading, participation in seminars, or mass media promotion.  They can spread gender equality message most effectively through preaching, church activities and education.

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