Greetings Feminism and Religion family! It has been soooo long and I have missed you so much!! I have been working on a few projects that were rudely interrupted by a heartbreaking divorce, decisions of survival, and the subsequent recovery… Read More ›
Women
From Kavanaugh to Hell by Sara Wright
The glorious blue and gold summer day permeated by the scent of wild roses faded as the ominous words swirled around my head trying to get in. Roe overturned. For a moment rebellion – disbelief, NO, something screamed in silent… Read More ›
Inspired by Carol P. Christ: Patriarchy Rules the Supreme Court by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
Along with the words of Justices Sotomayer, Breyer and Kagan. The Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe was expected, but there was nothing that could prepare me (nor likely anyone else) for the devastation of the actual decision. My gut is… Read More ›
From the Archives:“Vaginas are Everywhere!”: The Power of the Female Reproductive System by John Erickson
Moderator’s note: This marvelous FAR site has been running for 10 years and has had more than 3,600 posts in that time. There are so many treasures that have been posted in this decade that they tend to get lost… Read More ›
Vayechi’s Take on Fertility, Women and Theodicy by Ivy Helman.
This week’s Torah portion is Vayechi, or Genesis 47:28-50:26. It is the last part of the Joseph saga (For my thoughts on two other parshot relating to Joseph, see Mikeitz and Vayigash). While there is much that could be said,… Read More ›
The Treasures of Vayishlach by Ivy Helman
The Torah portion to be read this Shabbat is Vayishlach (Genesis 32:4-36:43). It contains the reunion between Jacob and Esau, the twice-renaming of Jacob to Israel, events relating to Dinah, the mass murder of all of the male inhabitants of… Read More ›
Shofetim: The Divine Feminine, Magic, and the Role of Gender by Ivy Helman.
This post is dedicated to Carol P. Christ. I knew her first as my professor and then my friend for over 15 years. May her memory be a blessing. This week’s Torah portion is Shofetim (also spelt Shoftim), or Deutoronomy… Read More ›
Post-Hysterectomy Reflections: Not All Women Bleed by Ivy Helman
Around the age of 8, or maybe 10, I learned my aunt had had a hysterectomy. I remember visiting her house either shortly before or after the operation. I can’t remember which, and it doesn’t really matter. At the time,… Read More ›
Let’s Talk About Shame by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
Disclaimer/Trigger Warning: This post includes content about rape, sexual assault, domestic abuse, violence. The recent, meaningful discussions on this forum about how so many of us feel broken due to our own personal histories have fortified and inspired me. I’ve… Read More ›
Sappho’s Poems as an Ethos for Women’s Ritual by Jill Hammer
For by my side you put on many wreaths of roses and garlands of flowers around your soft neck and with precious and royal perfume you anointed yourself. On soft beds you satisfied your passion. And there… Read More ›
Unpacking the Midterm Elections by Anjeanette LeBoeuf
As the dust is settling, with the mixture of finishing counting ballots and races being conceded, the true realities of what happened in the 2018 Midterm Elections is taking concrete form. From the earliest hours of November 6, numbers showed that… Read More ›
Lei by Lache S.
Mauro Drudi’s installation of LEI (SHE/HER) in the Chiesa de San Cristoforo on the Sicilian island of Ortigia where I usually take a bus to daily has become the shrine of women I’ve been searching for. Each time I cry,… Read More ›
Vayeitzei: Rachel and the Practice of Niddah by Ivy Helman
This parshah contains the account of Jacob’s marriages to Leah and Rachel, (who happen to be his cousins) as well as the birth of his 11 sons and one daughter. It describes the long amounts of time Jacob worked for… Read More ›
The Women of Lech Lecha by Ivy Helman.
The parshah for this week is Lech Lecha (Genesis 12:1-17:27). I’ve actually written about Lech Lecha on this forum before, concentrating on the parental aspects of the divine. See here. However, this time I want to look at the Torah… Read More ›
Gardening through Grief by Marie Cartier
A friend of mine has been in hospice with Alzheimer’s. And she died today. There will be a day when I write about Barbara… what a great friend she was. How I hate that she is no longer in my… Read More ›
Breaking the Silence by Christy Croft
Yesterday, Time Magazine announced that its “Person of the Year” for 2017 would be “The Silence Breakers” – the name it has given to those women who helped launch and made headlines in the #metoo movement. This movement was started… Read More ›
Rest and Renewal: Gifts of Women’s Ritual Dance by Laura Shannon
Samhain is past, and we in the northern hemisphere are once again entering the final outbreath of the solar year. At the winter solstice, light will be reborn. Until then, it is important to embrace the time of rest and… Read More ›
Sisterhood, Service, Sovereignty: The Living Spirit of Avalon by Elizabeth Cunningham
Like so many women, I read Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon and got caught up in her vision of the Holy Isle and the priestesses who knew how to navigate those mists and travel between the worlds. Like… Read More ›
Women Made of Fire by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
This was going to be a post about my new life in South Africa; to say what it means for me the return to this country full of wonderful things to do, after an intense and grievous experience in 2015… Read More ›
Festival of the Goddess by Deanne Quarrie
In late August, I wrote an article about the Tjet or the Knot of Isis, also called the Blood of Isis. I thought it a good idea to come back and write about the festival, now ended. We gathered in… Read More ›
Religion and the #StateofWomen by Gina Messina
The White House Summit on Women was held this week on Tuesday, June 14, 2016 and it was a great privilege to be among those invited to participate in this inaugural event. There was an incredible line up of speakers… Read More ›
Women Missing from the Pope’s Address to US Bishops by Gina Messina-Dysert
Pope Francis offered many words of wisdom and discussed key issues in his address to US Bishops in Washington DC. He acknowledged the sex abuse scandal as a crime and called for bishops to be healers. He asked that bishops… Read More ›
A Dance Between Fear and Trust by Jassy Watson
I have been deep in thought about TRUST. There was a moment of realization recently when I saw clearly how in every moment of every day we place trust in the hands of others, many of whom we do not… Read More ›
Enemy of (H)Islam by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
So, again, you, the most holy and enlightened man of the mosque have pointed your finger at me to declare, noisy and hysterical, that I am an “Enemy of Islam.” Then you, who preaches and recites best, have gone out… Read More ›
The Difficult Truth: “Terrorists” are also Human by Hanadi Riyad
This past month Jordan has witnessed a lot of grief, as well as a certain shift in politics and popular opinion regarding Da’esh and the government’s position towards it. On 3 Feb, Da’esh released a video of the immolation of… Read More ›
What is a Crone? By Deanne Quarrie
First of all a Crone is a woman. She has lived most of her life already and has accumulated many life experiences and therefore, can relate to those younger than her with greater understanding. She has acquired the wisdom associated… Read More ›
You Are What You Read by Martha Cecilia Ovadia
When it comes to my family, I’ve always felt different. One of my earliest memories from when I was really young was being told that I felt things too passionately—that I felt too much. What was never said but was… Read More ›
ISIS and the Larger Muslim Crisis by Hanadi Riyad
It is heartening to hear the many condemnations Muslim scholars have issued of ISIS and its methods and actions. One of the latest attempts comes in the form of an open letter addressed by a coalition of one hundred and… Read More ›
Are You Ready for Some Football? by John Erickson
Although putting women in charge of drafting new policies that address the “woman problem” currently facing the NFL, it too reeks of the similar dismissive and patronizing actions women face when trying to obtain leadership roles in their religious traditions. Supercilious progress for the sake of progress isn’t progress and progress under the guise of silence is still misogyny. We need women in positions of leadership in both the NFL as well as in religious traditions. The culture of violence and silence will only continue, albeit with a Band-Aid firmly in place, holding the painful experiences and histories of women, long forgotten and often overlooked, until society values their rights just as much as the men leading the prayers and those that are being prayed for on Sundays across America.
From Evangelical Christianity to Feminist Evangelism by Andreea Nica
I always knew I was a feminist, despite my lack of knowledge in the movement and philosophy growing up. I did, however, have the religious support of my family and community to be an Evangelical Christian. I knew all the… Read More ›