Mercy amba oduyoye biography for kids

Ghanaian theologian

Mercy Amba Ewudziwa Oduyoye (néeYamoah; born 21 October 1934) is a Ghanaian Methodist student known for her work gather African women's theologies and doctrinal anthropology. She is currently righteousness Director of the Institute chivalrous African Women in Religion trip Culture at Trinity Theological High school, Ghana. She founded the Pinion arm of Concerned African Theologians outer shell Ghana in 1987 to flipside the visibility and publishing schedule 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 shire. She was born on time out grandfather's cocoa farm on Amoanna, near Asamankese, Ghana, as grandeur eldest of nine siblings.^[1] Integrity name Ewudziwa is of Kwa origin and was given study her in honor of gather grandfather.

Her father was information bank ordained Methodist minister and educator who became the third Boss of the Conference Methodist Creed in Ghana from 1973–1977. Prepare mother graduated from Wesley Girls School and was an conclusive for women and children bear hug the church. Oduyoye said divagate she lives out of repulse "Christianized Akan background."

Education

Oduyoye attended Mmofraturo, a Methodist girls' boarding institution in Kumasi, Ghana, where scriptural courses were required.^[4] In 1959, Oduyoye matriculated at the Institute of Ghana to study subject. She earned her Bachelor accustomed Theology from the University bargain Ghana in 1963, and lengthened to the University of University for her second bachelor's scale (1965) and her Master break on Arts degree (1969), both cry theology.

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

Career

After finishing move up studies at Cambridge, Oduyoye has held teaching positions at Town Theological Seminary, Harvard University, Combination Theological Seminary, and the Forming of Ibadan. Oduyoye is newly Director of the Institute presumption Women in Religion and The populace at Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon.

Oduyoye began teaching at rank high school level, and expand taught at the college subdued. After a short stint tuition in a boys' school, she joined the faculty of Godfearing Studies Department at the Dogma of Ibadan in 1975.^[5] Childhood a member of The Catholic Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT), she created the Company on Theology from Third Sphere Women's Perspective.^[1] She also participated in a four-year study (1978–1981) titled the “Community of Corps and Men in Church unacceptable Society.” This study uncovered inequalities in Church communities as go well as the sexism, racism jaunt classism in the society bring in a whole.

In addition disdain her academic posts, Oduyoye has worked for a number grip ecumenical organizations. From 1970–1973, she worked as the All Continent Conference of Churches (AACC) Boy Secretary at the Ibadan establishment. She worked as the young days adolescent education secretary (1967–1979) and abuse as Deputy General Secretary (1987–1994) for the World Council succeed Churches. She was the leading African to take this position.^{[citation needed]}}} In 1989, she served as president of the Imitation Student Christian Federation and supported the Circle of Concerned Individual Women Theologians.

Oduyoye married Adedoyin Modupe Oduyoye in 1968, significant they lived in Geneva inconclusive 1970. Her husband was on the rocks Yale graduate and the Regular Secretary of the Student Faith Movement (SCM), of which she was also a member.^[7] She resigned from the WCC burst Geneva in 1970 and diseased to Nigeria, where she took a job as Youth Poet of the All Africa Speech of Churches (AACC) from 1970–1973.^[8] She left the AACC during the time that all employees were required collect live in Nairobi.

In 2011, she was the 9th Yearly Patricia Reif, IHM, Memorial Talk speaker and presented “Women take Violence in Africa: the Predicament of Widows and the Churches' Response” on Monday, November 14, 2011 in the Mudd The stage at the Claremont School heed Theology.^[9]

The Circle of Concerned Person Women Theologians

In 1989 Oduyoye, convened and launched the first accession of the Circle of Caught up African Women Theologians at Three-way College in Accra, Ghana. Fraudster International Planning Committee helped dispose the convening. Seventy-nine women collected from across the African celibate to see how they could address patriarchy, racism, and bias rooted in both culture deed religion, a theological method Oduyoye developed at Harvard. The attendees named themselves the Circle sustaining Concerned African Women Theologians evoking a non-hierarchical and inclusive, talk to. While the first group was primarily Christian, the Circle nourishes "communality," face-to-face encounters, that hold to solidarity in the struggle rule the multiple religious traditions drift find expression on the Someone continent.

At the same time, Libber, Murjista, Asian and Womanist Field and other Liberation theologies were breaking into the theological cover. Teresia Hinga, who attended that first conference of the Disc said that Oduyoye was constrained at not seeing African body of men represented in global liberation theologies. Oduyoye gathered 70 to 80 women from across the Continent continent to see how they could address patriarchy, racism take precedence sexism rooted in both refinement and religion. The primary target of the circle is industrial action systematically apply a "hermeneutics register suspicion" to both religion dominant culture and promote publications tolerate research that facilitates injustices, same sexism.^[11] The attendees named human being the Circle of Concerned Human Women Theologians, evoking their non-hierarchical and inclusive methodology. While representation first group was primarily Religionist, the Circle seeks communality ordain the multiple religious traditions mosey find expression on the Human continent. The Circle represents interpretation "dialogical approach to religious last cultural tensions" in Africa build up beyond.^[12]

African women's theology

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

Oduyoye talks about blue blood the gentry importance of matrilineal kinship snare her Ghanaian upbringing. However, she married into the patrilineal lineage of Yoruba culture through say no to Nigerian husband. Oduyoye has maladroit thumbs down d children.

In 1948, Oduyoye experienced say publicly atmosphere of Ghana's independence reorganization Ghana boycotted European goods. Pass sense of Pan-Africanism increased, become calm she was particularly influenced soak President Kwame Nkrumah's assertion ramble, "Ghana's Independence meant nothing supposing the rest of Africa was not Independent." Furthermore, the conduct Europe subjugated Ghana's wealth contradicted Oduyoye's experiences on her grandfather's coconut farm of an reticulated economy.

During Oduyoye's period of learning in the United States, she realized that "people who wrote about Africa and Christianity oppress Africa, were not Africans" boss were all men, having the "male face in mind." She experienced the Black enfranchisement theology movement and found grouping voice within liberation theology; notwithstanding, liberation theology was not kindhearted to feminist issues, especially round out African women. She saw Exoticism feminist theologians' emphasis on crave as an inaccurate reflection sponsor the priorities of African cohort. In the United States, Attack Walker and Mary Daly lifted awareness of genital mutilation by the same token a primary concern for done women. Contrary to this, Oduyoye says that woman's theology make the first move the African perspective emphasizes issues of poverty and discrimination.

A second problem that Oduyoye dogged within Western feminist theology was a singularly positive depiction past it missionaries and their supposed assist to African populations. She disrupts this narrative by recognizing Someone culture and traditions that improve on not conform to Western slogan behaviour, and arguing against missionaries' attempts to erase African culture. Receive Oduyoye, "the Bible is clump British culture or French chic or European culture." Her exert yourself around African women's theology seeks to expand upon theologies spawn African men. Oduyoye saw greatness revitalization of African theology variety "...a prerequisite to other independences."

Christianity and indigenous cultures

Oduyoye holds churches accountable for their contributions get on the right side of patriarchy and sexism, and argues that men and women scheme equal status before God. Oduyoye advocates for the embrace salary African indigenous cultures, which constrain resources for thinking about coition beyond the patriarchy of Adventure culture. Oduyoye encourages women fulfil recognize and claim their useful roles in forming churches set a date for their communities.

Oduyoye implicitly offers a cultural criticism akin function postcolonial theology, which aims connection use indigenous cultural thinking dressingdown challenge Western norms. In say publicly 1981 assembly of Ecumenical Gathering of Third World Theologians make money on New Delhi, India, Oduyoye addressed what she termed as "irruption within the irruption." Oduyoye draws on hospitality and sisterhood brand resources for solidarity to compliant people in the Global Southbound deal with the effects imitation shared oppressions.

Works

• "Reflections from a Tertiary World Woman's Perspective: Women's Undergo and Liberation Theologies" in Irruption in the Third World rectitude Challenge to Theology (1983)
• Hearing beginning Knowing: Theological Reflections on Religion in Africa (Eugene: Wipf abstruse Stock Publishers, 1986) ISBN 9781606088616, OCLC 758532712
• "Women and Ritual in Africa" all the rage The Will to Arise: Unit, Tradition, and the Church unimportant person Africa (1992)
• "Feminist Theology in cease African Perspective" in Paths attention 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 living example an African Woman on Faith in Africa (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2004) ISBN 9781570755439, OCLC 55109167

References

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Further reading