Bloomsbury Academic Spousal Violence Among World Christians: Silent Scandal

This book takes a global approach to violence between husbands and wives in faith contexts. It focuses primarily on Christians, and uses anthropological, theological and historical methods which intersect with and are challenged by lay and ordained women and men from eighteen countries. Focusing on marital violence, the book explores how to understand how various churches, their priests, preachers and members, approach the topic, interpret the texts, and, with the almost relentless collusion of theologians, hide from the sin. Drawing on ethnographic research over several decades from around the world, Elizabeth Koepping presents testimonies from abused women, as well as theological justification for spousal abuse from the perpetrators. She argues that violence against the (female) spouse can be understood as proper behaviour by manly men towards unruly wives, rather than an insult to the Image of God in all persons. The book shows that spousal abuse is an ecumenical phenomenon, in the sense that is present all over the inhabited world, and it is present in all Christian churches. Review "This book is a bold statement on how violence against wives cannot, against all reported evidence, be biblically legitimized and is a violation of men and women as the image of God. With a truly global approach through her research, the author clearly demonstrates how pervasive the support of Christian theologies in history and in present times is for disciplining wives to being beaten and physically violated." --Marina Ngursangzeli Behera, Research Tutor & MPhil Stage Leader, Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, Oxford University, UK"'Elizabeth Koepping's book is the fruit of a life-long academic and personal commitment to gender justice. In this multi-sited, global study we are introduced to theological arguments and critical readings regarding men's violence towards women at a grassroots level, far from lofty declarations at international conferences. It is a timely and unsettling book.'" --Kajsa Ahlstrand, Professor of World Christianity, Uppsala University, Sweden About the Author Elizabeth Koepping is an Honorary Fellow in the School of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh, UK. She is the editor of the four volume work World Christianities (2011), and author of Food, Friends and Funerals (2008).