Abstract

In this chapter, the author demonstrates how a narrative approach opens up new possibilities within this activist orientation to religion and gender research, by presenting case studies of two Christian young men attending evangelical churches in England. Drawing on Lynn Gerber's work, the author show how 'godly masculinity' is negotiated in both the 'lived life' as it is recalled in narratives of particular events and the 'told story' as a dynamic self-presentation. The biographic narrative interview method is significantly different from traditional semi-structured approaches. Gerber’s concept of godly masculinity has proved highly relevant for understanding the cases of Ethan and Jack. He observed at the start of the chapter how many scholars of religion and gender are deeply invested in ethical usefulness of their work—raising visibility, advancing rights and so on. Narrative approaches like BNIM resist ossifications in requiring researchers to always account for ambiguity and instability even as they notice patterns and structures that recur through cases of subjectivity.