Tag: religious choice

Legacy of Carol P. Christ: Staying In or Leaving the Religious Community of Your Birth- The Dialogue Continues

carol p. christ 2002 color

This post was originally published on June 24th, 2013

This blog is part of an on-going discussion between me and my friend Jewish feminist theologian Judith Plaskow about the differences in our choices to stay in and leave traditional religious communities, which is part of our forthcoming book Goddess and God since Feminism: Body, Nature, and Power.

When you (Judith) discuss the reasons I left Christianity while you stayed Jewish, I think you hit upon a crucial difference between us when you say that I am more “idealistic” than you are.  I agree that this does not mean that I am more ethical than you are.  When you say that I require more “purity of thought” or perhaps more accurately more “purity of ritual symbolism” than you, I think you have hit the nail on the head.  I simply cannot participate in a religious symbol system that I feel has done and continues to do great harm in the world.

I reiterate that for me this “problem” is not limited to the ways in which the maleness of God justifies male domination—including violence against and rape of women.  Equally important to me are the ways that religious symbolisms justify the violence of warfare and conquest.    I simply will not and cannot participate in religious rituals that justify domination and violence in the name of “God.”  If that makes me a “purist” or an “idealist,” I am willing to accept those terms.  Continue reading “Legacy of Carol P. Christ: Staying In or Leaving the Religious Community of Your Birth- The Dialogue Continues”

Staying In or Leaving the Religious Community of Your Birth: The Dialogue Continues by Carol P. Christ

carol p. christ 2002 colorThis blog is part of an on-going discussion between me and my friend Jewish feminist theologian Judith Plaskow about the differences in our choices to stay in and leave traditional religious communities, which is part of our forthcoming book Goddess and God since Feminism: Body, Nature, and Power.

When you (Judith) discuss the reasons I left Christianity while you stayed Jewish, I think you hit upon a crucial difference between us when you say that I am more “idealistic” than you are.  I agree that this does not mean that I am more ethical than you are.  When you say that I require more “purity of thought” or perhaps more accurately more “purity of ritual symbolism” than you, I think you have hit the nail on the head.  I simply cannot participate in a religious symbol system that I feel has done and continues to do great harm in the world.

I reiterate that for me this “problem” is not limited to the ways in which the maleness of God justifies male domination—including violence against and rape of women.  Equally important to me are the ways that religious symbolisms justify the violence of warfare and conquest.    I simply will not and cannot participate in religious rituals that justify domination and violence in the name of “God.”  If that makes me a “purist” or an “idealist,” I am willing to accept those terms.  Continue reading “Staying In or Leaving the Religious Community of Your Birth: The Dialogue Continues by Carol P. Christ”