Becoming a “Gospel Woman”: agency, youth, and gender at a Charismatic church in Brighton and Hove, UK

Abstract

This article explores the paradoxical gendering of charisma in the lives of congregation members at a Charismatic Pentecostal church, the Church of Christ the King (CCK), in Brighton and Hove, UK. Gender is discussed as a ‘hot potato’ at CCK, a point of divergence and negotiation. I show how these dialogues are shaped by specific symbolic and embodied forms of gendered imagination and practice, which often operate counter to gender norms outside the Church. Looking at the intersection of youth and gender at the Church, I show how countercultural opposition serves to underwrite a culture of service and submission, which buttresses patriarchal authority and cements gendered hierarchies within the Church. As I argue, the overlooking of the relationship between religious leadership and gender is increasingly challenged by the younger generation bringing together self-making processes from both the sacred and the secular realm.