Author Archives

Esther Nelson teaches courses in Religious Studies (Human Spirituality, Global Ethics, Religions of the World, and Women in Islam) at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia. She has published two books. VOICE OF AN EXILE REFLECTIONS ON ISLAM was written in close collaboration with Nasr Abu Zaid, an Egyptian, Islamic Studies scholar who fled Egypt (1995) when he was labeled an apostate by the Cairo court of appeals. She co-authored WHAT IS RELIGIOUS STUDIES? A JOURNEY OF INQUIRY with Kristin Swenson, a former colleague. When not teaching, Esther travels to various places throughout the world.

• Shariah is not a Law by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on June 13, 2017 • ( 15 )

  

  I will never forget the day Nasr Abu Zaid (1943-2010), an Islamic Studies scholar and teacher extraordinaire, told me, “Shariah is not a law.”  In spite of his assertion, many people—both Muslims and non-Muslims—are convinced that Shariah is synonymous with… Read More ›

• The Bird No Longer Perches by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on May 12, 2017 • ( 17 )

  

  Except for a couple of Dr. Phil shows, I have not watched TV since last November’s presidential election. I don’t want to be assaulted by the images of men (and a few women) occupying positions of power and leadership in… Read More ›

• Should I Stay or Should I Go? by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on March 27, 2017 • ( 23 )

  

  On March 13, 2017, Carol Christ wrote on this “Feminism and Religion” blog: “When I made the decision to leave Christianity rather than to work within it to transform it, I believed that rational judgments were primary. Now I am… Read More ›

• I See the Fire by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on February 23, 2017 • ( 19 )

  

  Ever since reading Elie Wiesel’s book, NIGHT, I’ve identified with Madame Schächter, one of eighty Jewish people corralled and hermetically sealed inside one of the cattle wagons on the rail journey to Auschwitz from a ghetto in Sighet. The text… Read More ›

• Way Too Nice by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on January 27, 2017 • ( 12 )

  

  What an honor to have taken part in the Women’s March (Washington DC) last Saturday, January 21, 2017!  The event made visible the enormous number of people willing to give their time and effort to stand up and march for… Read More ›

• A Movement Needs A Song by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on December 29, 2016 • ( 33 )

  

  I’m back in Las Cruces, New Mexico, spending the break between semesters in the spot where I plan to eventually retire.  When I was here last summer (2016), I visited the Unitarian Universalist Church so decided to join the people… Read More ›

• Violent Virtue by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on November 30, 2016 • ( 13 )

  

  I just got home from the first yoga class I’ve attended since the recent (11/8/16) U.S. presidential election.  I cried for the entire 75 minutes—through forward folds, downward facing dogs, exalted warriors, and especially shavasana (corpse pose).  The young man… Read More ›

• Women’s Bodies—Feeling the Hate by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on October 21, 2016 • ( 19 )

  

  Warning friends, the first four paragraphs of this post includes quotes/references of some of Donald Trump’s misogynist rhetoric.  I never bothered to watch Donald Trump’s television show “The Apprentice.”  The teasers advertising the TV program were enough to keep me clicking through… Read More ›

• Muslims: The 5:00 P.M. Workers by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on September 29, 2016 • ( 11 )

  

  Recently (September 2016), the Bishop Walter F. Sullivan Catholic Studies Symposium took place in the university where I teach.  The main speaker (a Roman Catholic priest) addressed the topic, “How Pope Francis is Creating a Culture of Encounter.”  There were… Read More ›

• Racism: We Still Don’t Get It by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on August 30, 2016 • ( 30 )

  

  I was in Las Cruces, New Mexico, this summer for several weeks, spending much of my time unpacking boxes the moving van had delivered while simultaneously trying to create an aesthetically-pleasing and comfortable home.  I also went to the Unitarian… Read More ›

• Solitary Marriage by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on July 30, 2016 • ( 29 )

  

  I’ve been married for most of my life.  Marriage, along with all our institutions, is influenced by and therefore takes shape from the culture/society in which it exists.  When I got married, I had certain expectations that I’d absorbed from… Read More ›

• Gratitude by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on June 23, 2016 • ( 20 )

  

  I’ve been in the midst of moving for almost a year, yet am still not finished with that onerous task.  My youngest son and family recently moved into the place I’ve called home since 1980.  I bought a small house… Read More ›

• What’s Essential by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on May 26, 2016 • ( 10 )

  

  After reading my essay (4-15-16) on this Feminism and Religion site, one of my male colleagues (also a good friend) pushed back at me.  “Seems to me,” he said, “that the issue in any oppression is power and power structures… Read More ›

• HUSBAND, MAY I? by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on April 15, 2016 • ( 12 )

  

  For several weeks now, I’ve been going through and disposing of stuff that has accumulated in my house over the past three or four decades.  One of the more interesting finds was the following letter, written by my husband, when… Read More ›

• Rita Trumps the Donald by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on March 11, 2016 • ( 12 )

  

  The phrase “politically correct,” words we hear over and over again these days, has a history. Some of that history, far from definitive, is captured here. The following quote, taken from this blog, resonates with me:  “…maybe we should drop… Read More ›

• But…They’re Just Animals by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on January 23, 2016 • ( 25 )

  

  When I teach my Human Spirituality course to college students, I include a section on factory farming.  Merriam-Webster defines factory farming as “a large industrialized farm; especially: a farm on which large numbers of livestock are raised indoors in conditions… Read More ›

• Slant the Truth by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on December 24, 2015 • ( 6 )

  

  Seems to me that our society nowadays “believes in” slavishly following step-by-step instruction found in “how-to” manuals.  By following such rigid-like instruction, we hope to find meaning that enables us to live fulfilled lives.  This became evident to me (all… Read More ›

• REGRETS by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on November 19, 2015 • ( 26 )

  

  Both my sisters claim to have no regrets about their lives.  I do.  It’s not so much that I regret specific things that happened to me in my life or even some of the particular choices I made although both… Read More ›

• It’s Mom’s Fault by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on October 16, 2015 • ( 10 )

  

  My conservative, local newspaper ran an article recently titled, “Gun Control is Not the Answer.”  The author, Jay Ambrose, is a contributing columnist employed by the Independence Institute, a libertarian think tank based in Denver, Colorado.  The group’s stated mission… Read More ›

• Dying For the Triune God by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on September 30, 2015 • ( 15 )

  

  Last week, the Catholic Studies Chair in the public university where I teach sponsored an event that brought Monsignor Kevin Irwin from The Catholic University of America; School of Theology and Religious Studies, Washington DC, into our midst.  His hour-long… Read More ›

• It’s All About the Story by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on August 21, 2015 • ( 18 )

  

  Every August my friend and colleague, Dale, preaches–does pulpit supply–at his local parish (St. Mark’s Episcopal) in our hometown.  He always has something valuable to say so I ventured forth eagerly on a recent Sunday morning to hear him even… Read More ›

• Slouching Towards Justice by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on July 21, 2015 • ( 24 )

  

  Kecia Ali, one of the contributors to this Feminism and Religion blog, recently wrote an excellent article titled, “Muslims and Meat-Eating  Vegetarianism, Gender, and Identity,” (Journal of Religious Ethics, Volume 3, Issue 2, June 2015). In her article, Kecia Ali… Read More ›

• Autism: A Feminist Issue? by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on June 16, 2015 • ( 35 )

  

  Having lived with my husband for several decades now, I’m convinced he falls somewhere on the high end of the ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) scale.  People who find themselves on this “high end” used to be classified under the category… Read More ›

• This “Diversity” Thing by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on May 15, 2015 • ( 6 )

  

  I find a whole lot of hoopla swirling around this thing we call “diversity.”  By and large, these days people readily admit to being “for” diversity.  A former colleague of mine, though, became exasperated with the trite, mechanical way many… Read More ›

• My Tribute to Joy and Vera by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on April 17, 2015 • ( 7 )

  

  My daughter Joy, in so many ways, is like my mother Vera–competent, feisty, determined, smart, no-nonsense, generous, gracious, and loving.  Many of her mannerisms mimic Vera’s as well, yet Joy barely knew my mother.  She died soon after Joy’s fifth… Read More ›

• What’s God Got To Do With It? by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on March 18, 2015 • ( 17 )

  

  We’re no longer shocked, albeit still horrified and sickened, by the images of violence that come at us daily from all around the globe.  I’ve come to expect it.  Beheadings.  Burning people in cages.  Shootings–“execution-style.”  Bombings of all kinds–including drones… Read More ›

• My Name is Jihad by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on January 16, 2015 • ( 12 )

  

  Recently, my local newspaper (yes, I still get a paper delivered to my “newspaper box” every morning!) carried a short article that caused me to stop and reflect. The headline read, “Use of ‘Jihad’ on school test assailed.”  A local,… Read More ›

• What’s in a Community? by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on December 18, 2014 • ( 14 )

  

  Although the specific reasons elude me, I do get nostalgic for “holiday music” during the Christmas season.  I’ve written before about growing up in a fundamentalist, Protestant, missionary family.  My parents left their homeland (USA), their respective families, and everything… Read More ›

• Let’s Begin With Compassion by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on November 12, 2014 • ( 15 )

  

  Every year, several churches in my area set aside a Sunday morning service to celebrate “The Blessing of the Animals.”  Parishioners bring animals (mostly dogs) with them to church.  The service centers around St. Francis, a Catholic friar and preacher… Read More ›

• How Shall We Then Live? by Esther Nelson

  By Esther Nelson on October 16, 2014 • ( 32 )

  

  President Obama, responding to the beheading of American journalist, James Foley, by ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), said, “ISIL speaks for no religion…and no faith teaches people to massacre innocents….ISIL is not Islamic” (August 20, 2014). I… Read More ›