Clergy, capital and gender inequality: An assessment of how social and spiritual capital are denied to women priests in the Church of England.

Abstract

Although the Church of England (CofE) agreed to admit women to its most senior ordained offices as bishops in 2014, they are still not afforded the same opportunities for professional progression as men. This article identifies and explores factors that contribute to such inequality. It draws on semistructured interviews with 41 male priests from theologically conservative traditions within the CofE, interpreting the data with a thematic narrative analysis. Utilizing literature from social and spiritual capital, this article establishes that these forms of capital are necessary for informing the habitus required for obtaining senior positions in the CofE before arguing that such resources are frequently denied to women by those interviewed. The analysis develops understanding of spiritual capital and institutional work, demonstrating that the former functions in a manner akin to cultural capital within religious institutions and that the latter is not always purposive in its capacity for effecting institutional change. It also articulates the theory of irresolute equality reform to describe the way in which different institutional goals can limit their ability for equality reform. The article then outlines changes that could be made in clergy training and in the selection procedures for senior appointments to address gender inequality within the CofE.