Women in African Diaspora Religion - Essay Example

African Diaspora Religions and Women Empowerment Introduction African Diaspora religions have encroached USA as many Africans come to America. These folks have many reasons as to why they want to keep their religions. To begin with, it gives them a sense of community. These are people in a foreign land and it is possible for them to feel alienated from their communities. Their religions offer them a sense of comfort and it not only brings them together but also helps them to connect with their ethnic roots. In such churches, it is common for members to sing and listen to ethnic hymns in their mother tongues. These churches encourage members to sing and talk in their ethic languages because this will help them to keep a connection to their roots. However, these Diaspora religions have an impact on the way gender issues are advancing in the United States of America. These Diaspora religions do this in a number of ways; Empowering women financially, legally and through counseling These Diaspora religions offer many services to the members. However, because the highest number of people in these churches is women, they benefit more from these services. These women are able to get financial support, legal advice, and even counseling. This increases the socioeconomic empowerment of these women. As a result, the presence of these African Diaspora religions has been a boost to the American bid to empower women politically, finally and socially (Griffith & Savage, 2006). It is good to note that the African Diaspora citizens in United States of America make up to one million people, most of whom are women. Most of these people live in American gateway cities such as New York and los Angeles. This means that their impact on socioeconomic matters is likely to affect the rest of the population in United States. As a result, the African Diaspora religions are doing a great job in bringing empowerment to United States of America. Offering platform for political forums These churches also offer political forums albeit in an informal way. They offer these forums in two main ways. To begin with, the church services are full of political connotations and political matters are involved in these services such as in sermons. The leadership in these churches use the pulpit to discuss political matters of their home-country politics and with politics in United States of America. The other way in which these churches offer a political forum for discussing political matters is with regard to the after-service chats that are one on small informal groups. These women are able to hold small groups where they can chat and educate each other with regard to political matters. This makes it easier for women to have an understanding of matters that affect them and know how to deal with these matters (Beyer, 2014). Again, the fact that women make up to 80% of the members of these congregations a loss means that they are the most affected by the activities of these African Diaspora churches. These discussion forums are also important in empowering these women and giving them political power as they engage in things they would otherwise not be engaging in, if they were not in the United States of America. At the same time, it is necessary to note that these women are sally more educated than African women in their African continent or in other countries where people of African origin are found such as in Brazil or Haiti. Their education combined with the opportunities that the United States of America offers them makes it much easier for these women to gain economic power in a much easier way. They gain power to participate in processes and leadership positions that they would not get in their home countries. So much so that they can have more access to social power than the American women can. The church setting helps them to focus and to be determined to gain personal development. These support and pressure from their churches is not primarily to help them gain socioeconomic power. The support is to help them not be ‘corrupted’ by the western culture that the church considers to be corrupted. Still, the result is that these women are more likely to have more focus on such issues as personal growth and development as well as career growth. As they grow, they are more able to gain economic empowerment (Princeton University, 2014). Empowering women by giving them leadership in church Because women are the majority in these African Diaspora churches, there is always a higher chance that they can get leadership positions. In most cases, these women are even becoming the lead reverends in their churches. As they take up these leadership positions in these African Diaspora churches, they get nurturing in not just religious leadership but also socioeconomic and sociopolitical leadership. The churches are also political platforms and therefore the leadership in these churches is likely to be involved in leadership outside church matters. This makes it easier for these women to be able to act in leadership capacity in many forums. Therefore, these women are being empowered. A look at the history of Diaspora religions in USA is enough to indicate that these churches play a major role in the empowerment of these marginalized societies. This is something that has been happening in the northern American continent even before it became the United States of America. In 17th and 18th centuries for instance, these religions acted as empowerment vehicles especially for women as is evident in the case of one famous voodoo member, Marie Catherine Laveau who was a Creole woman of color (Voodoo on the Bayou, 2012). Her power attained through her religion is evident even today, where many people even whites still recognize her power by visiting her grave and performing religious rituals. This tradition of these African Diaspora religions act as tools t empower women. In modern day, these African Diaspora women act as vehicles for empowering women in so many aspects. The labor market in USA, which is fairer than in Africa or other African-like countries like Haiti, makes it easier for these African emigrant African women to be economically empowered. This leads to increased conflicts in their marriages. Most people who come from Diaspora tend to marry each other as opposed to marrying local people. The fact that where they come from women do not have much empowerment and are likely to submit to their spouces no matter their socioeconomic status or level of education bring in a new dynamic in these marriages. In America, they have to attain a balance between empowered women and also sustaining their African identify that require them to be submissive to their husbands. This balance is however not easy to maintain in most cases as these women are empowered by the church as well as the socioeconomic dynamics in the United States of America (Gerloff, Adogame, & Hock, 2011). The African Diaspora religions also work as employment network that helps the immigrants to get work and this has led to more empowerment. The Diaspora churches are made of members who support each for the welfare of everybody in the churches. Diaspora women who arrive in the country are likely to get collective support from the other members in the church and this act as a way increase empowerment for women. These religions also tackle family issues that touch directly on gender issues. For instance, the Africans who attend these African Diaspora churches have to decide between living to the letter of the bible, and at the same time living within the challenges that are in the American society. For instance, the pastors in these churches are likely to preach a sermon based on St. Paul epistles that instruct the women to respect and obey their husbands. However, in doing so, the pastor may be quick to add that the husbands must be able to know that this is America and most families cannot afford a maidservant. Therefore, the chores of the house may be between the husband and the wife. In most countries where these African in Diaspora come, even families in the lower middle class can afford a maidservant. In USA however, these people, even with all the social economic opportunities, can hardly afford a full time maidservant and this brings in a new dynamic in the relationship between husbands and the wives. This means that when these African Diaspora are finding ways to deal with new dynamics on how to manage the relationships between males and females. The scales are tipping on the side of the African Diaspora women who are now able to have more equity with their male counterparts than the women in Africa. Conclusion The African Diaspora religions have in their own unique ways helped to advance women empowerment in the United States of America. Their role as an arm of the society is bog enough to warrant a second look at how they operate. In the future, as the African immigrants continue to increase; this may be more than just women empowerment. References Beyer, C. (2014). African Diaspora Religions. Retrieved April 27, 2015, from About Religion: http://altreligion.about.com/od/alternativereligionsaz/tp/African-Diaspora-Religions.htm Gerloff, R., Adogame, A., & Hock, K. (2011). Christianity in Africa and the African Diaspora: The Appropriation of a Scattered Heritage. New York, NY: A&C Black. Griffith, R., & Savage, D. (2006). Women and Religion in the African Diaspora: Knowledge, Power, and Performance. New York, NY: JHU Press. Princeton University . (2014, March). Women and Religion in the African Diaspora. Retrieved April 27, 2015, from Princeton University : https://csr.princeton.edu/research/past-research/women-and-religion-in-the-african-diaspora/ Voodoo on the Bayou. (2012, March 20). Marie Laveau. Retrieved April 27, 2015, from Voodoo on the Bayou: http://www.voodooonthebayou.net/marie_laveau.html Read More