5.2 The Research Process
5.2.1 Participants
This was aimed at exploring how men in this movement interpreted their experiences towards understanding and making sense of their masculine identities. Because my choice of method was dictated by what I intended to explore, a “case-centric” research proved ideal. Curtis and Curtis (2011:5-7) maintains that a case-centric approach to qualitative research intends to explore and describe the beliefs of the research participants. As the name indicates, Blaxter et al. (2006:71) establish that case studies concentrate on special cases with the purpose of probing deeply in order to analyse intensively the multifarious phenomena. A case-centric approach therefore starts with a case (Curtis and Curtis 2011); to illustrate either a problem or a good practice (Blaxter et al. 2006). This research identified that the MMC had called for a return to “godly manhood” as a quest towards the process of “recreating” and “restoring masculinity” in the South African context.
Beginning with this case necessitated the need to interrogate faith discourses to inquire the purpose and the motives of such calls for a “return” and what kinds of masculinities were emerging in the process of this quest.
I had prior knowledge of the men I needed to interview within the MMC, and the cases selected were therefore for theoretical reasons as to represent the phenomenon and the objectives under investigation. Blaxter et al. (2006:163) argues that purposive sampling is a non-probability sampling approach where the participants are hand-picked based on supposedly typical or interesting cases. The sample was chosen, first, from male participants who adhere to the tradition of Evangelical Christianity (either conservative, Charismatic or Pentecostal). This was done based on the fact that the MMC is not a homogenous Christian phenomenon. Second, the participants should have attended at least two MMC’s consecutively to make my sessions with them more informative. Third, the study purposively targeted men who, while attending the MMC, also belong to a church men’s group and continued to participate in such groups after the MMC decentralised to various cities of South Africa.
By using purposive sampling, it was convenient for me to gain access to three different categories of Christian traditions with three varied theological positions of conservative, Charismatic and Pentecostal forms of Evangelical Christianity, by help of their lead pastors who also attended the MMC. Purposive sampling was also adopted due to its convenience in terms of cost and time. Also, the men who became interested to participate introduced me to other potential participants who were then approached for consent. Blaxter et al. (2006:163) terms this method of sampling as snowball sampling, where a researcher builds up a sample through informants.
5.2.1.2 Demographics of the Research Sample
A total of 34 men were approached and unreservedly accepted to participate in this research as a representation of the MMC. This became a unit of analysis for this study.
All the men who consented to participate were from Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal, except one respondent who was from Cape Town. The criterion for selection was based on a number of factors. While the majority of men who attend the MMC are white Afrikaans speaking men, it was important for me to interview men from other ethnic groups as well. Hence, I chose 8 African, 6 Indian, 4 Coloured, 8 English speaking, and 8
Afrikaans speaking South African men.67 First, I supposed that men from these different racial groups would attest to different notions of masculinities (not only informed by their cultural traditions but also Christian beliefs and values). Second, all the men who consented to participate were from a Christian faith community which adhered either to Conservative, Charismatic or Pentecostal Evangelical ethos. Three of the participants were church leaders (pastors) who have been in ministerial leadership for over 20 years in a Pentecostal, a Charismatic and a more Conservative Evangelical church respectively. Of the remaining 31, 13 were from the Pentecostal Evangelical tradition (PET), 10 were of Conservative Evangelical tradition (CET) and 8 were from a Charismatic Evangelical tradition (ChET).
The participants ranged in age from 27 to 69, with an average age of 47 years. 27 of these men are married and lived with their families. It was assumed that a wide age range would provide varied experiences towards understanding expressions of masculinities within an Evangelical setting with 6 middle aged participants also taking part in the study.
Even though educational status was not a major factor considered for one to be approached to participate, all the men had qualifications beyond matriculation, with most (except 9) with first degrees and others second degrees. All the 34 men were above the middle class social-economic status. The table below illustrates purposive sampling for this study.
Evangelical Faith Community
Gate Keepers
(Key Individuals) Mighty Men
Participants Marital Position Married Single
CET 1 10 10 3
ChET 1 8 7 2
PET 1 13 10 1
Table 1: Summary of Purposive Sample of MMC Participants.
67 It is not easy to distinguish between Afrikaans speaking South Africans and Afrikaans speaking English White South Africans. However, the distinction is mainly based on language as medium of communication.
Prior to 1994 and following the constitution of the Republic of South Africa on the May 1961, South Africa had two official languages; English and Afrikaans. Afrikaners as a race group use Afrikaans as their primary (and sometimes main) language of communication, which remained significantly used prior to the establishment of the Union of South Africa on 31 May 1910 until the declaration of the Republic in 1961.
In this case, it is not difficult to find ‘Coloureds’ (mixed race) use Afrikaans as their primary language, particularly in the Western Cape. While English as a language medium was seldom heard prior to 1994, particularly in State institutions, the use of Afrikaans as a language was (and is) not restricted to White South Africans, for example, Afrikaners. White English-speaking South Africans also utilise the language, hence many white South Africans are bi-lingual in a strict sense (see James Leatt et al 1986 on Contending Ideologies in South Africa)
5.2.1.3 Advertising the Research and Gaining Entry to the MMC
Having attended the MMC several times, gaining access to individuals targeted to take part in this study was not difficult on the bases that most (but not all) were known to me.
Further, no permission was required to attend the MMC gatherings as a Christian man.
However, for research purposes, I contacted the MMC officials (of Shalom Ministries) by email asking for consent for an appointment with Buchan –the leader of the MMC, with an intention to conduct an interview session with him. Unfortunately, after a long wait, Jill –Angus Buchan’s wife responded that it was not possible to have a session with Buchan on the basis that he was fully booked until 2014. Alternatively, it was also not possible to meet with any of the MMC officials, but email conversations on some aspects about the MMC were made between me and one of the officials.
In order to gain access to the men who attended the MMC, I identified three different church congregations (as samples) for the purpose of this study. Since my primary data was to be obtained through in-depth interviews with these men, I required consent from the lead pastors as “gatekeepers” in order to gain access to men in their congregations who were approached during a pilot study and had agreed to participate. I made email contacts with the three pastors introducing the study and its aims as stipulated in the official consent letter/form (see Appendix 1 attached). In response to their approval, I followed up these consents with telephone conversations requesting the pastors to allow me to attend their Church’s men group meetings with the purpose of introducing the study to the men thereby explaining what participation would entail. Although the target of my study was not the men’s group in these congregations, I established that from a research point of view these men’s groups would provide a possible entry point to access men who had attended the MMC. In all the cases, verbal and written consents were received and arrangements were made on how to conduct the interviews with the men individually. Convenient time, venues and dates to conduct in-depth interviews with men who expressed interest in the study was arranged. No cancelations arose from the participants who showed interest to participate.