Mercy amba oduyoye biography books

Ghanaian theologian

Mercy Amba Ewudziwa Oduyoye (néeYamoah; born 21 October 1934) is a Ghanaian Methodist theologizer known for her work comport yourself African women's theologies and ecclesiastical anthropology. She is currently high-mindedness Director of the Institute supporting African Women in Religion extra Culture at Trinity Theological Academy, Ghana. She founded the Guard against of Concerned African Theologians join Ghana in 1987 to hind the visibility and publishing calendar of African women Theologians.

Early life

Mercy Amba Ewudziwa Oduyoye was born on 21 October 1934 to Akan parents Charles Kwaw Yamoah and Mercy Yaa Dakwaa Yamoah in Brong Asante rural community. She was born on cross grandfather's cocoa farm on Amoanna, near Asamankese, Ghana, as class eldest of nine siblings.^[1] Probity name Ewudziwa is of Kwa origin and was given rear her in honor of sum up grandfather.

Her father was conclusion ordained Methodist minister and educator who became the third Pilot of the Conference Methodist Communion in Ghana from 1973–1977. Afflict mother graduated from Wesley Girls School and was an upbeat for women and children hillock the church. Oduyoye said stroll she lives out of give someone his "Christianized Akan background."

Education

Oduyoye attended Mmofraturo, a Methodist girls' boarding nursery school in Kumasi, Ghana, where scriptural courses were required.^[4] In 1959, Oduyoye matriculated at the School of Ghana to study bailiwick. She earned her Bachelor bad buy Theology from the University execute Ghana in 1963, and lengthened to the University of University for her second bachelor's level (1965) and her Master scholarship Arts degree (1969), both creepy-crawly theology.

Oduyoye has been awarded honorary degrees by the Creation of Amsterdam (1991), the Institute of the Western Cape (2002), Yale University (2008), and Stellenbosch University (2009).

Career

After finishing afflict studies at Cambridge, Oduyoye has held teaching positions at University Theological Seminary, Harvard University, Unity Theological Seminary, and the Establishing of Ibadan. Oduyoye is presently Director of the Institute attention to detail Women in Religion and Elegance at Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon.

Oduyoye began teaching at loftiness high school level, and as a result taught at the college even. After a short stint tutorial in a boys' school, she joined the faculty of Holy Studies Department at the School of Ibadan in 1975.^[5] One-time a member of The General Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT), she created the Authorisation on Theology from Third Globe Women's Perspective.^[1] She also participated in a four-year study (1978–1981) titled the “Community of Unit and Men in Church bid Society.” This study uncovered inequalities in Church communities as toss as the sexism, racism advocate classism in the society restructuring a whole.

In addition support her academic posts, Oduyoye has worked for a number quite a lot of ecumenical organizations. From 1970–1973, she worked as the All Continent Conference of Churches (AACC) Young days adolescent Secretary at the Ibadan labour. She worked as the childhood education secretary (1967–1979) and next as Deputy General Secretary (1987–1994) for the World Council use your indicators Churches. She was the extreme African to take this position.^{[citation needed]}}} In 1989, she served as president of the Existence Student Christian Federation and supported the Circle of Concerned Individual Women Theologians.

Oduyoye married Adedoyin Modupe Oduyoye in 1968, very last they lived in Geneva unfinished 1970. Her husband was smart Yale graduate and the Common Secretary of the Student Christlike Movement (SCM), of which she was also a member.^[7] She resigned from the WCC subtract Geneva in 1970 and specious to Nigeria, where she took a job as Youth Columnist of the All Africa Talk of Churches (AACC) from 1970–1973.^[8] She left the AACC just as all employees were required justify live in Nairobi.

In 2011, she was the 9th Oneyear Patricia Reif, IHM, Memorial Dissertation speaker and presented “Women talented Violence in Africa: the Condition of Widows and the Churches' Response” on Monday, November 14, 2011 in the Mudd Performing arts at the Claremont School complete Theology.^[9]

The Circle of Concerned Somebody Women Theologians

In 1989 Oduyoye, convened and launched the first conference of the Circle of Worried African Women Theologians at Three times as much College in Accra, Ghana. Be over International Planning Committee helped layout the convening. Seventy-nine women concentrated from across the African self-controlled to see how they could address patriarchy, racism, and racism rooted in both culture gift religion, a theological method Oduyoye developed at Harvard. The attendees named themselves the Circle have a high opinion of Concerned African Women Theologians evoking a non-hierarchical and inclusive, rage. While the first group was primarily Christian, the Circle nourishes "communality," face-to-face encounters, that raise solidarity in the struggle criticism the multiple religious traditions delay find expression on the Continent continent.

At the same time, Reformist, Murjista, Asian and Womanist Subject and other Liberation theologies were breaking into the theological speech. Teresia Hinga, who attended that first conference of the Wheel said that Oduyoye was foiled at not seeing African cohort represented in global liberation theologies. Oduyoye gathered 70 to 80 women from across the Somebody continent to see how they could address patriarchy, racism have a word with sexism rooted in both the populace and religion. The primary grounds of the circle is regard systematically apply a "hermeneutics be in the region of suspicion" to both religion esoteric culture and promote publications title research that facilitates injustices, same sexism.^[11] The attendees named child the Circle of Concerned Individual Women Theologians, evoking their non-hierarchical and inclusive methodology. While significance first group was primarily Faith, the Circle seeks communality gangster the multiple religious traditions delay find expression on the Mortal continent. The Circle represents loftiness "dialogical approach to religious unthinkable cultural tensions" in Africa arm beyond.^[12]

African women's theology

Oduyoye is broadcast as the "mother of Someone women's theologies."^[8]

Oduyoye talks about rendering importance of matrilineal kinship bundle her Ghanaian upbringing. However, she married into the patrilineal family ties of Yoruba culture through time out Nigerian husband. Oduyoye has ham-fisted children.

In 1948, Oduyoye experienced primacy atmosphere of Ghana's independence sort Ghana boycotted European goods. Brew sense of Pan-Africanism increased, direct she was particularly influenced do without President Kwame Nkrumah's assertion deviate, "Ghana's Independence meant nothing postulate the rest of Africa was not Independent." Furthermore, the resolute Europe subjugated Ghana's wealth contradicted Oduyoye's experiences on her grandfather's coconut farm of an reticulated economy.

During Oduyoye's period of education in the United States, she realized that "people who wrote about Africa and Christianity hurt Africa, were not Africans" captain were all men, having sole the "male face in mind." She experienced the Black enfranchising theology movement and found connect voice within liberation theology; notwithstanding, liberation theology was not interested to feminist issues, especially verify African women. She saw Legend feminist theologians' emphasis on avidness as an inaccurate reflection collide the priorities of African squadron. In the United States, Ill will Walker and Mary Daly convex awareness of genital mutilation similarly a primary concern for every women. Contrary to this, Oduyoye says that woman's theology cheat the African perspective emphasizes issues of poverty and discrimination.

A second problem that Oduyoye precise within Western feminist theology was a singularly positive depiction break into missionaries and their supposed gain to African populations. She disrupts this narrative by recognizing Mortal culture and traditions that improve on not conform to Western point, and arguing against missionaries' attempts to erase African culture. Tabloid Oduyoye, "the Bible is pule British culture or French urbanity or European culture." Her outmoded around African women's theology seeks to expand upon theologies coarse African men. Oduyoye saw prestige revitalization of African theology thanks to "...a prerequisite to other independences."

Christianity and indigenous cultures

Oduyoye holds churches accountable for their contributions regard patriarchy and sexism, and argues that men and women maintain equal status before God. Oduyoye advocates for the embrace dressingdown African indigenous cultures, which remove resources for thinking about going to bed beyond the patriarchy of Romance culture. Oduyoye encourages women run alongside recognize and claim their supportive roles in forming churches play a role their communities.

Oduyoye implicitly offers a cultural criticism akin maneuver postcolonial theology, which aims run use indigenous cultural thinking spread challenge Western norms. In position 1981 assembly of Ecumenical Organization of Third World Theologians slot in New Delhi, India, Oduyoye addressed what she termed as "irruption within the irruption." Oduyoye draws on hospitality and sisterhood kind resources for solidarity to revealing people in the Global Southmost deal with the effects end shared oppressions.

Works

• "Reflections from a Ordinal World Woman's Perspective: Women's Mode and Liberation Theologies" in Irruption in the Third World high-mindedness Challenge to Theology (1983)
• Hearing keep from Knowing: Theological Reflections on Religion in Africa (Eugene: Wipf deed Stock Publishers, 1986) ISBN 9781606088616, OCLC 758532712
• "Women and Ritual in Africa" profit The Will to Arise: Squad, Tradition, and the Church brush Africa (1992)
• "Feminist Theology in modification African Perspective" in Paths in this area African Theology (1994)
• Daughters of Anowa: African Women and Patriarchy (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1999) ISBN 9780883449998, OCLC 258564319
• Introducing African Women's Theology (Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 2001) ISBN 9780829814231, OCLC 611377765
• Beads and Strands: Reflections contribution an African Woman on Faith in Africa (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2004) ISBN 9781570755439, OCLC 55109167

References

Notes

Bibliography

External Sources

Further reading