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Leon J. Podles

The Church Impotent: The Feminization of Christianity Hardcover – January 1, 1999

by Leon J. Podles (Author)

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The current preoccupation with the role of women in the church obscures the more serious problem of the perennial absence of men. A Provocative new book argues that Western churches have become "women's clubs," that the emasculation of Christianity is dangerous for the church and society, and that a masculine presence can and must be restored. After documenting the highly feminized state of Western Christianity, Dr. Podles identifies the masculine traits that once characterized the Christian life but are now commonly considered incompatible with it.

In an original and challenging account, he traces feminization to three contemporaneous medieval sources: the writings of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the rise of scholasticism, and the expansion of female monasticism. He contends that though masculinity has been marginalized within Christianity, it cannot be expunged from human society. If detached from Christianity, it reappears as a substitute religion, with unwholesome and even horrific consequences. The church, too, is diminished by its emasculation. Its spirituality becomes individualistic and erotic, tending toward universalism and quietism. In his concluding assessment of the future of men in the church, Dr. Podles examines three aspects of Christianity-through which its virility might be restored. In the otherwise stale and overworked field of "gender studies," The Church Impotent is the only book to confront the lopsidedly feminine cast of modern Christianity with a profound analysis of its historical and sociological roots. Dr. Podles presents the fruit of his meticulous scholarship in a lucid and readable style thoroughly accessible to the non-specialist.

Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publisher

UNKNO
Publication date

January 1, 1999
Dimensions

6.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

1890626074
ISBN-13

978-1890626075
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Leon J. Podles, a native of Baltimore, earned his bachelor's degree at Providence College and his Ph.D. in English at the University Virginia. He later studied Old Icelandic at the University of Iceland. He has worked as a teacher and a federal investigator. Among the numerous journals for which he has written are America, American Spectator, Crisis, and American Enterprise, and he is a contributing editor of Touchstone. Dr. Podles and his wife have six children and live in Naples, Florida, and Baltimore.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ UNKNO; First edition (January 1, 1999)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1890626074
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1890626075
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,065,202 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,455 in Sociology & Religion
- #6,524 in History of Christianity (Books)
- #6,982 in Christian Church History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
26 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		45%
4 star		18%
3 star		11%
2 star		17%
1 star		8%

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D. Kovacs

Read this, then become Eastern Orthodox.

Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2020

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Is this book perfect? No, but I’m trying to even out the stars a bit here. My wife says that it is well worth reading. She considers the best part of the book to be the author's discussion of the balance between the union of the Holy Trinity (feminine) of Father Son and Holy Spirit (masculine). This mirrors the communion of the Church (Body and Bride of Christ, feminine) of all Christian people (the adopted sons of God in Christ, masculine). From an Orthodox standpoint, the words for Trinity and Church in both Greek and Russian are feminine, so it makes sense. She considers this book to be yet another pointer to the apostolic Orthodox Church, where the balance of holy tradition has never been lost.

One person found this helpful

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A. Brown

Excellent Book!

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2019

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This reads somewhat like an academic text but I still could not put it down. Very insightful as to the beginnings of the feminine "over influence" because it goes back even further than I realized. Very good read !

2 people found this helpful

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Dave B.

The Church Impotent

Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2012

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I think its a good read and has shed some light on the topic for me at least. I have wondered why so often the ladies in a church have way more to do with how things are to be run then thier male counter parts. I think this book has some really good points as to the where's, why's and how's of this. db

6 people found this helpful

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Oldfrjon

Three Stars

Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2017

Verified Purchase

Worthy read

One person found this helpful

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Cokebottlegreen

Disappointing

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2008

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I found the book to be sloppily argued. Some chapters are nothing more than a hodgepodge of different sources strung together to fit Podles' thesis, while others rely much too heavily on his own unexamined assumptions about both Christianity and masculinity. I wanted to learn more about the subject of the feminization of Christianity, but ended up only learning more about Podles.

18 people found this helpful

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Prince Sublime

Two Stars

Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2016

Verified Purchase

Was not exactly what I expected, thought there would be more substance to the book.

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Paul Froehlich

WHERE ARE THE CHURCH MEN?

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2015

”Men are largely absent from the Christian churches of the modern West.” That’s the phenomenon that Leon J. Podles addresses in The Church Impotent. It is fairly obvious to those who frequent churches that, while men dominate among the clergy, women predominate in the pews.
There are exceptions among denominations, but overall, men attend church much less frequently and are even less likely than women to pray privately. Women are twice as likely to attend a church service. No matter the yardstick, women exhibit greater commitment to, involvement with, and belief in religion, according to Robert Putnam and David Campbell in their authoritative book, American Grace (2010).

This pattern of feminization is not found, however, in Judaism and Islam, which indicates that men are not by nature nonreligious. Podles seeks to discover what it is about Western Christianity that drives men away. What discourages male involvement? He has a plausible theory.

The Old Testament is clearly patriarchal, and Podles contends that early Christianity also continued the masculine approach. During the Middle Ages, however, changes to church doctrine made Christianity more feminine with bridal mysticism. Erotic language was used to describe the relation of the believer to God, with Jesus the groom and Christians the bride. A modern example is from Bill McCartney, founder of Promise-keepers: “We were created to be in a love affair with Jesus.”

This bridal language has homosexual overtones, suggests Podles, who also thinks the movement of the church to become less condemnatory of homosexuality might deter male participation as well. That latter theory, if true, would not account for the lack of men in church in the decades before the 1990s. He also points out that the clergy is considered a more feminine occupation, along with artists and journalists. This may be because male clergy must appeal to women who constitute the bulk of their flocks.

So what will it take to attract men to the Church? A masculine spirituality must include struggle, such as Abraham bargaining with God over the fate of Sodom, or Jacob wrestling with God. Churches may be going in the wrong direction when they preach submissive obedience and downplay the struggle between good and evil. In addition, the Church should provide opportunities for male comradeship. David Murrow makes similar recommendations in his bestselling book, Why Men Hate Going to Church (2005, 2011).

Some of the approach in this book is simplistic and lacks evidence to back it up, such as the contention that being more accepting of homosexuality drives away straight men. The dearth of men does deserve serious attention from Christian leaders and theologians. Podles doesn’t have all the right answers, but the health of the church requires that they be found. ###

13 people found this helpful

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Sheena Leader Of the Fuzzheads

Very thought provoking

Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2007

I read this book several years ago, and am still digesting some of the author's ideas. There is much to ponder here, and a careful reading of it will throw much light on the ways in which the modern Church has been yanked off-balance by overemphasis on a feminine or bridal Christian mysticism. This bridal mysticism, which began to grow after the thirteenth century, focuses on Christ as Lover and tends to disregard the many images of Christ as Warrior, Priest and King. The author contends that to dwell excessively on Christ as Lover is to repel healthy men, and it is a reasonable conclusion.
The author also shows how men nurture, and how Christ, in His divine masculinity, nurtured and still does nurture, His Church. This nurturing is accomplished with the shedding of men's blood, as Christ shed His, and it stands in contrast with feminine nurturing, in which women feed others with our bodies and hands. I found this a very profound idea, and it made me view the relationship between Christ and His Church, as well as between men and women, in a different light. It gave me much more respect for men and their sacrifices than I had before.
I am not sure if his thesis can explain the absence of men from church life, but it seems reasonable that it must in part explain it. This book is worth reading for the detailed view it gives of the bridal mysticism in the Church, and for the other possible spiritualities available to men it suggests.

11 people found this helpful

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