| To perceive and interpret their worlds, people develop distinct individual belief systems, or lenses. These belief systems continually develop based on each person's genetic structure and past experiences, or biography (Stern, 1990; Kegan, 1982). People may model their lenses after what they perceive to be objective systems of truth, such as Christianity, feminism, or Buddhism.; Women whose primary identification is feminism, have begun to share their experiences within the Christian community. However, the majority of religiously active women in the United States do not identify as feminists (Briggs, 1987); their experiences also needed to be explored.; This study's goal was to examine the experiences of women whose primary identification was Christianity. A qualitative research methodology (Guba and Lincoln, 1989; Mischler, 1986) was utilized to examine women's descriptions of their experiences as Christians and as women; to examine their thoughts about feminism, Christianity, church, and gender; and to explore the manner in which they organized their beliefs.; Five women of differing ages (25, 36, 40, 54, and 63) and Christian denominations (United Methodist, home church, Roman Catholic, nondenominational charismatic, and Presbyterian) were interviewed twice about these topics and their backgrounds. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using Erlandson et al.'s (1993) emergent category designation procedure. The interview data were then summarized and interpreted; the women's feedback was obtained about these interpretations in a third interview. This feedback was incorporated into the final conceptualizations and interpretations.; Areas of convergence were found between the women's conceptions of Christianity, character of God/Jesus/Holy Spirit, church, and gender. Variability existed between the women's pictorial images of God, and their conceptions of feminism and women's roles. The lens model evolved from the women's conceptualizations of their Christian belief system and descriptions of their individual experiences; various concepts, such as power and conflict with the institutional church, were explained using this model. Differences between these women and women whose primary identification is feminism were discussed. The effect of the research process on the participants as well as on the researcher was also explored. |
