Meredith Whitnah is a sociologist who studies the role of religion in supporting or challenging inequality and violence. Having trained in Gender Studies and Sociology from Gordon College and the University of Notre Dame, her work focuses on the ways that organizations’ theological convictions intersect with their positioning in the world to shape their actions.
She is the author of Faith and the Fragility of Justice: Responses to Gender-Based Violence in South Africa (Rutgers University Press, April 2025). Prior work examined how U.S. evangelical organizations’ conflict over gender ideology shapes their different responses to domestic violence, including whether they center or pivot away from narratives of women’s experiences of abuse.
Dr. Whitnah is an active member of the American Sociological Association’s Section on the Sociology of Religion, the Society for the Scientific Study of the Religion, and the Association for the Sociology of Religion.
Faith and the Fragility of Justice is a historical, qualitative study that examines how anti-apartheid Christian NGOs vary in their responses to gender-based violence in democratic South Africa. The book uniquely demonstrates that religious beliefs are a central dimension of institutional processes that sustain or challenge social inequality and violence.
“Whitnah offers a candid look at the role of faith-based organizations in the struggle to eradicate gender-based violence in the South African context. As evident in the title, this pursuit of justice is fragile indeed. However, Whitnah’s monograph shows how these organizations continue reinventing themselves in the pursuit of gender justice. As the battle cry resounds: a luta continua!” ~Juliana Claassens, professor of Old Testament at Stellenbosch University, South Africa
“While there has been extensive scholarship examining how religious groups opposed apartheid, no scholar has attempted to trace how religious organizations addressed gender inequality and gender-based violence throughout apartheid and into the new democratic dispensation. With clear and engaging prose, Whitnah showcases her precise analytical skills as well as her commitment to amplifying the voices and work of South Africa religious leaders and activists.” ~Hannah Britton, author of Ending Gender-Based Violence: Justice and Community in South Africa
“Whitnah takes us into three different South African religious groups, all of which opposed apartheid, showing us how their theological cultures, their social positioning, and the contingencies of history shape very different responses to rampant gender-based violence. Deeply researched and engagingly written, this book asks important questions about how religions pursue justice in the world.” ~Nancy T. Ammerman, professor emerita of sociology of religion at Boston University
“Why did religious organizations in South Africa that opposed racial apartheid have differing responses to gender-based violence? Whitnah insightfully answers this question through impressive in-depth research. She takes us on an important journey into the pathways of religious belief and practice that help or hinder gender justice. A truly significant work that should be read widely.” ~Michael O. Emerson, Harry and Hazel Chavanne Fellow in Religion and Public Policy at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University
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