This is the published version. Copyright 1999 Johns Hopkins University Press.Recent studies of North American and Latin American evangelicalism
suggest that the ideology and politics of charismatic and
legalistic-literalist fundamentalist groups differ with regard to
gender relations. Although both advocate patriarchal structures of
authority, women in charismatic groups can negotiate gender relations
more actively, thereby promoting their own interests. Applying
this basic distinction to evangelical groups in South Korea, however,
suggests that differences among the outcomes for women depend on
preexisting structures of authority rather than the type of fundamentalism.
When patriarchal structures of authority, especially in
the family, still function, the differences between charismatic
and legalistic-literalist fundamentalism become minimized. However,
when these structures are breaking down or already have eroded,
charismatic types of fundamentalism offer women a stronger voice
and greater opportunities to renegotiate gender relations than do
literalist-legalistic ones