Complementarianism, Gender and Evangelism: Retelling Sydney Anglican Stories

Complementarianism, Gender and Evangelism offers a feminist, sociological account of lived Sydney Anglicanism. Furthering the study of global evangelicalism, Rosie Clare Shorter provides a new frame for analyzing complementarianism as a specific discourse that uses gender to construct and regulate both faith and sexuality. This study theorizes that complementarianism is not simply a set of private beliefs, but rather a specific ecclesial discourse defining orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Embedded in language and the relationships between church leaders and parishioners, this discourse is used as an operation of power which limits Christian belief, behaviour and belonging.

Grounded in the author’s research and lived experience in the Sydney Anglican Diocese, the book provides a detailed study of individuals who worship and work at three parishes, covering both the stories told about Sydney Anglicans, and the lived experiences of Anglicans themselves, their identity, their faith and their communities.

Rosie Clare Shorter is a feminist researcher interested in sociology of religion and gender and sexualities studies. She currently teaches at The University of Melbourne and Deakin University, Australia, and is a co-convenor for The Australian Sociological Association sociology of religion thematic group.