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的Zomi妇女的角度来批评亚洲女权神学。一个跨学科的项目，我将人种志与神学相结合，以朝着建设Zomi妇女神学的建设中。大约85％的Zomi将其视为基督徒，使其成为缅甸最大的基督教少数民族。下巴州也是该国最贫穷的地区，贫困率为73％。艰难的地形，贫困的基础设施和不稳定的民族关系进一步抑制了该地区的发展。 Zomi妇女在社会中占据了二等职位，通过社会制度，规范和文化价值观得到加强。严格的性别角色将妇女限制在家庭和关怀职责中，并且通常被排除在决策之外。女孩的学校水平大大低于男孩，揭示了一个优先考虑男性并限制女性的性别等级制度。尽管有些妇女确实从事职业，但社会期望意味着她们仍在与付费工作一起进行所有家庭劳动。不幸的是，这种性别不平等通过教学和实践在教会中得到了复制。亚洲女权主义神学表达了基督教思维方式，以解决亚洲妇女面临的特定问题。本质上的背景和自由宗旨是亚洲女权主义神学家赋予亚洲妇女的生活和经历，成为其神学的基础。他们的故事与土著习俗和对圣经和学说的新理解一起编织，从而使神学对亚洲妇女的独特性和来自亚洲妇女的独特性。主要的亚洲女权主义神学家位于韩国，香港，菲律宾和印度，到目前为止，从Zomi的背景来看，还没有亚洲女权主义神学。亚洲女权神学的高度情境性本质阻止了它轻松地翻译成各国和文化。诸如韩国，菲律宾和缅甸等国家之间存在重大的经济，社会和宗教差异之类的因素揭示了对Zomi妇女神学的必要性。需要密切分析的其他关键问题包括国家与Zomi之间的民族宗教紧张局势以及下巴状态下的严重贫困，这无疑会影响Zomi妇女与神的关系。我的研究将深入探讨基督教Zomi妇女的神学和信仰生活。我有兴趣发现在这种情况下的生活如何塑造他们理解和体验自己的信仰的方式。我的项目将为亚洲女权神学提供建设性的建议，以使Zomi妇女的生活经历背景下，以使其对基督教亚洲妇女保持振奋和解放。缺乏有关该话题的文学和Zomi文化中强烈的口头传统的必要使用社会科学方法。我将在下巴州进行6-8个月的野外工作。我旨在结合参与者的观察，一对一的访谈和小型焦点小组，旨在揭示Zomi妇女的神学思考，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，我从该领域的发现将与亚洲女权主义神学家的作品进行对话，以评估亚洲女权神学对Zomi背景的相关性和适用性。我的研究将是第一个享有长期以来一直被忽视的贫穷，边缘化Zomi妇女的思想和故事。它还将为缅甸的基督教奖学金以及缅甸的少数民族奖励，强调在民族宗教的紧张，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性质。