Academic CentreThe project "Living and believing gender in a neo-conservative future: the case of women's (non)ordination in Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church" is aimed at reducing gender inequality and preventing discrimination against women in Latvia, offering new, evidence-based interdisciplinary knowledge, as well as promoting discussion about the causes of inequality, its implementation mechanisms and consequences, analysing the problem in the international context in the conditions of growing neoconservatism. Gender equality experiences in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia have been selected for this research.
Project tasks:
- To gain knowledge about how gender is experienced, practiced, and discussed in LELC congregations, revealing the factors that cause inequality, as well as the role of post-socialism and global conservative influence and the church as a mediator and a place where gender (in)equality can be manifested.
- To explore the impact of the media and communication strategies in disseminating gender-related information, especially regarding women's ordination.
- To analyse and develop a meaningful and locally applicable theological perspective on sensitive gender-related issues.
Methodology in the project is based on anthropological fieldwork, quantitative research, media studies, research, and analysis of theological texts. By gaining an understanding of the causal relationships, the discussion will be promoted in the target groups – in the religious environment and organisations, and in the wider social context, both at the national and international level.