This study was conducted to determine if ordained women clergy experience resistance or lack of receptivity to their appointments. If so, does the resistance more readily occur with churches in a rural area? The focus of the study was women clergy of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. My study reveals there are Methodist women clergy who continue to have churches outright refuse their projected appointments. My study also reveals that this problem is more often found with churches in rural areas where the culture is connected to long-standing scriptural interpretations and traditions that do not theologically and practically view woman as legitimate church leaders. Qualitative research methods were used in conducting this research. Six ordained women clergy women from the Holston Conference were interviewed. Statistical information was obtained from the 2005 Journal of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. I also researched past germane studies.
","abstract_html":"<p>This study was conducted to determine if ordained women clergy experience resistance or lack of receptivity to their appointments. If so, does the resistance more readily occur with churches in a rural area? The focus of the study was women clergy of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. My study reveals there are Methodist women clergy who continue to have churches outright refuse their projected appointments. My study also reveals that this problem is more often found with churches in rural areas where the culture is connected to long-standing scriptural interpretations and traditions that do not theologically and practically view woman as legitimate church leaders. Qualitative research methods were used in conducting this research. Six ordained women clergy women from the Holston Conference were interviewed. Statistical information was obtained from the <em>2005 Journal of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church</em>. I also researched past germane studies.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Neal, Thelma June"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MALS (Master of Arts in Liberal Studies)","degree_level":"Thesis - unrestricted","degree_discipline":"Liberal Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2007,"date_issued":"2007-05-05T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2007-05-05T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:21:19Z","subjects":["Women","Methodism","Religion","Receptivity","Resistance","Ordained","Arts and Humanities","Ethics in Religion"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2100","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Neal, Thelma June"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2007-05-05T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Liberal Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - unrestricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MALS (Master of Arts in Liberal Studies)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Women","Methodism","Religion","Receptivity","Resistance","Ordained","Arts and Humanities","Ethics in Religion"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright by the authors."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/3461/viewcontent/NealT041807f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2100"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This study was conducted to determine if ordained women clergy experience resistance or lack of receptivity to their appointments. If so, does the resistance more readily occur with churches in a rural area? The focus of the study was women clergy of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. My study reveals there are Methodist women clergy who continue to have churches outright refuse their projected appointments. My study also reveals that this problem is more often found with churches in rural areas where the culture is connected to long-standing scriptural interpretations and traditions that do not theologically and practically view woman as legitimate church leaders. Qualitative research methods were used in conducting this research. Six ordained women clergy women from the Holston Conference were interviewed. Statistical information was obtained from the 2005 Journal of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. I also researched past germane studies.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Struggle for Acceptance: Continued Resistance to Female Ministers in Rural Holston Conference."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Neal, Thelma June"],"dc:date.issued":["2007-05-05T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This study was conducted to determine if ordained women clergy experience resistance or lack of receptivity to their appointments. If so, does the resistance more readily occur with churches in a rural area? The focus of the study was women clergy of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. My study reveals there are Methodist women clergy who continue to have churches outright refuse their projected appointments. My study also reveals that this problem is more often found with churches in rural areas where the culture is connected to long-standing scriptural interpretations and traditions that do not theologically and practically view woman as legitimate church leaders. Qualitative research methods were used in conducting this research. Six ordained women clergy women from the Holston Conference were interviewed. Statistical information was obtained from the 2005 Journal of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. I also researched past germane studies.
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