In my last post here on Feminism and Religion I unpacked the three primary understandings of atonement theology as well as some of the feminist critiques of those understandings. In this post I’d like to focus a bit more on… Read More ›
Christianity
The Intersections of Faith and Reproductive Justice by Katey Zeh
Last week I participated in a panel discussion hosted by the Center for American Progress (CAP) on the intersections of faith and reproductive justice. These conversations are critically important, particularly in these political times when threats to our bodily autonomy… Read More ›
Another One Bites the Dust: Orthodox Priest Defrocked for Declaring God Our Mother and Father Is Love by Carol P. Christ
While trying to find a topic for today’s blog, I came across a facebook post from July 10 by former Orthodox priest Christoforos Schuff in which he announced: After reaffirming my beliefs on gender, sexuality, faith and the Church…and sharing… Read More ›
Mulling over Movies: Moana, Pt. 2 by Elise M. Edwards
Every summer in the US, movie theatres show their newest big budget films, hoping to draw in large audiences. While I appreciate an air-conditioned theatre on a hot day, I love the opportunity to go to an outdoor movie screening…. Read More ›
Let’s Talk About White Supremacy by Grace Yia-Hei Kao
Sometimes I come across a resource that’s so fantastic that all I want to do is promote it. This incredible graphic from the blog site Radical Discipleship recently made the rounds on my Facebook news feed.
Making America What Again? Reflections for the 4th of July by Sara Frykenberg
I find myself asking (again), when the religious right, evangelicals, and Christian fundamentalists hear Trump say, “Make America Great Again,” do they really hear him saying, “Make America Christian Again?” How can the really hear him saying that in light of what this man has actually said and actually done? The answer: because of the same mythical purity that erases the violence, slaughter, and atrocity attached to this “Christian nation’s” founding.
Contemplative Resistance by Esther Nelson
I recently arrived in Las Cruces, New Mexico, after driving across much of the country from Richmond, Virginia. It’s the second summer I’ve driven this distance (2,000 miles) so I varied my route a bit from last year, stopping at… Read More ›
In This Fractured World, I Will Not Remain Silent by Karen Leslie Hernandez
The recent killing of 17 year old Nabra Hassanen is on my mind. Not only was she killed—brutally beaten with a baseball bat—but it is thought that she was raped, too. Twice. During Ramadan. By an undocumented Latino from El… Read More ›
Resistance and the Religious Left by Gina Messina
For the last forty years, the Christian Right has influenced the conversation in American politics. Where is the Religious Left and how are they impacting our nation’s moral agenda? It is an important question, and now, more than ever, we… Read More ›
A Beginning: Atonement Theology and the Feminist Critique by Katie M. Deaver
Since many of the comments on my last post expressed interest in my dissertation topic I will use my next couple of posts to talk a little bit more about my work and research in that area. When we talk… Read More ›
Becoming Myself by Katie M. Deaver
Last weekend was a special one for me. After many years of study and dedication I graduated with my Ph.D. and am now, officially, Dr. Katie Deaver. The weekend was filled with celebrations to mark the completion of a milestone… Read More ›
Sexuality and Spirituality: Convergence or Alienation? by Stephanie Arel
I just finished reading for review The Bloomsbury Reader in Religion, Gender, and Sexuality, edited by Donald L. Boisvert and Carly Daniel-Hughes. Targeting an undergraduate audience, the text explores ways that religion, gender, and sexuality intersect and interact in a variety… Read More ›
Painting Our Lady of Sorrows: Mother’s Day and Resurrection by Angela Yarber
The month of May finds those within the Christian tradition solidly within Easter season, reveling in the promise of resurrection, while simultaneously celebrating Mother’s Day. To be honest, I’d never seen much of a correlation between these two events in… Read More ›
Moonlight Reflections by Elise M. Edwards
As I post this, May 10, a full moon, known as the “Bright Moon” or “Flower Moon” is in the sky. This full moon occurs during a season of transition when living thing things renew and bloom. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s spring, but another transition is already underway. For many of us, spring is nearing close to summer in temperatures; in plant, animal, and insect life; and in our schedules. I am concluding a long, demanding spring semester and yearning for summer. Even though I welcome the transition, I know that like all change, it holds both opportunity and challenge. The full moon prompts me to look at the upcoming summer with clear, examining eyes
When a Methodist Turns Baptist by Katey Zeh
Nearly a year ago, almost to the day, I entered the sanctuary of an historic church in downtown Raleigh for the first time. Visiting a new faith community is nearly always at least a slightly uncomfortable social experience. In my… Read More ›
Remembering Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz’s Life and Legacy: Champion of Universal, and Non-Human Rights November 12, 1648/51 – April 17, 1695 by Theresa A. Yugar
She studies, and disputes, and teaches, and thus she serves her Faith; for how could God, who gave her reason, want her ignorant? —Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Villancico, or, “Carol”, in celebration of St. Catherine of Alexandria (1692)… Read More ›
Standing Rock: What Does Easter Look Like? by Elizabeth Cunningham
As I write, Bakken crude oil is moving through the Dakota Access Pipeline under the Missouri River at Lake Oahe Reservoir, crossing treaty lands and waters that the Sioux Nation never ceded to the United States Government. This, after the… Read More ›
The Nature of Communal Pondering by Elise M. Edwards
Last week, I listened to an episode of Krista Tippett’s series On Being that featured an interview with poet Marilyn Nelson. I am not very knowledgeable about the world of modern poetry, but I am familiar with Nelson’s work. A… Read More ›
Should I Stay or Should I Go? by Esther Nelson
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 ›
Coexist or Contradict? How about Resist Instead by Katey Zeh
While stopped at a red light on my way home one day I noticed that the two cars immediately in front of me had the same “Coexist” bumper sticker. You’ve probably seen one like it. Each of the letters of is a symbol… Read More ›
The Social Structures of Religious Identity and the Decision to Leave or Stay by Carol P. Christ
Reflecting on our different choices to “stay or leave” the religions of our upbringings while writing Goddess and God in the World with Judith Plaskow, I was prompted to think again about the social and ethnic structures of denominationalism. One… Read More ›
Doctrine and Fidelity by Elise M. Edwards
This past week, I was listening to Krista Tippett’s podcast On Being as she spoke with Pádraig Ó Tuama. He is a poet, theologian, and leader in the Corrymeela community of Northern Ireland. As he spoke about several things related… Read More ›
Do You Know Why We Are Marching? by Marcia Mount Shoop
When we got into the car to go, I asked my twelve-year-old daughter, “Do you know why we are marching today?” “To protest Donald Trump?” she replied. I explained that some people may be going for that reason, but that… Read More ›
Outraged? Yes, I Am! by Karen Leslie Hernandez
Readers, please note: this post includes accounts of rape and violence agianst women and quotes distrubing statements of assault made by Donald Trump. These are easily identifiable by the use of italics or as indented, quoted text. Of course I’m… Read More ›
Painting Lilith, Queering Lilith by Angela Yarber
Lilith has been a misunderstood, appropriated, and redeemed woman throughout the ages. Many feminists claim her as an empowering figure in Jewish mythology, her story reclaimed by contemporary artists such as Sarah McLachlan, who created the all-women music tour, “Lilith… Read More ›
A Gift Offered in Faith and Love by Elise M. Edwards
“The day begins with the sun and ends with the moon and stars; what you do in between is your gift to the world.” – Reyna Craig The new year has begun, and many of us take this marking of… Read More ›
Moving Forward and into a New Season by Elise M. Edwards
It’s only been a month and I am still reeling from the US presidential election. I feel like I’m just beginning to emerge from the sense of loss and futility that has cloaked me. But I am beginning to move… Read More ›
“Tricolor Mary: Encountering Three Faces of the Divine Feminine” by Simone Grace Seol
I always felt curiously distant from the figure of Mary. I always sensed that there is so much there and yet, I could never connect to it emotionally. The foil to Eve, vessel of Love, suffering mother. I wanted to… Read More ›
My Reaction to the Election Results by Elise M. Edwards
I wanted to stay in bed yesterday morning. I wanted to stay in bed for the whole day. When I heard that Trump won the US Presidential election, I didn’t know how to deal with it. How can I accept… Read More ›
The Restorative Act of the Rite-13 Ritual by Katey Zeh
I had never heard of the Rite-13 Ritual until I saw it listed on my worship bulletin a few months ago. My first reaction was to become annoyed when I saw the additional program item and to begin to calculate… Read More ›
