Far from being a dry anthology of essays about the movers and shakers of religious feminism in the late 20th century, this book dares to let these iconoclastic women speak for themselves, in all their pain, wisdom and glorious humor. Some of the writers’ names may sound familiar, particularly to those who have read feminist and womanist theology: the roster includes Rosemary Radford Ruether, Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, Judith Plaskow, Carol Christ and Delores Williams.

Other contributors, such as Lois Miriam Wilson, the first female moderator of the United Church of Canada, are not household names, but readers will be fascinated by their experiences. The contributors come from mainline Protestant, evangelical Protestant, Catholic, Islamic, Jewish, Mormon, Buddhist and goddess backgrounds. As the women share their spiritual journeys, they talk about how religion has both limited and empowered them. The book can be revisionist; several essays challenge the idea that womanist theology was created by black and Latina women because “whitefeminist” theology had ignored their needs. (Ruether in particular argues that religious feminism was concerned about racism from the beginning.) Readers will be encouraged by these women’s bravery, as well as by the book’s implicit reminder of how far women have come in a relatively short time.

Book Description

Pundits on both the right and the left often portray religion and feminism as inherently incompatible, as opposing forces in American culture. This book seeks to dispel that notion by asking sixteen well-known religious figures to tell the story of how they became involved in the women’s movement. Their work-much of it ongoing-has helped transform the way religion is practiced in this country. They have worked for the ordination of women, for inclusive language and liturgy, for new interpretations of scripture, theology, and religious law, and for an end to religious teachings that contributed to destructive gender stereotypes.

Authors include Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Mormon, Evangelical, and goddess feminists. Contributors were selected because their personal stories include watershed events in American religion and society over the last forty years. Each one of them has made history and seen it made, and gives her own version of what she has witnessed and experienced. They demonstrate the roots of their feminist activism in religious commitments, and the significance of struggles within religious arenas for expanding women’s possibilities in society and culture.

Contributors include: Lois M. Wilson, first woman moderator of the United Church of Canada * Letty Cottin Pogrebin, cofounder of Ms. Magazine * Azizah al-Hibri, President of Karamah: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights * Virginia Ramey Mollenkot, founding member of Evangelical Women’s Caucus * Rosemary Radford Ruether, Catholic feminist theologian * Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, Latina feminist theologian * Riffat Hassan, Muslim feminist theologian * Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, feminist Biblical scholar * Carol P. Christ, leader of the Goddess movement * Margaret Toscano, founder of the Mormon Women’s Forum * Charlotte Bunch, President of the Center for Women’s Global Leadership * Blu Greenberg, President of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance * Delores Williams, womanist theologian * Judith Plaskow, Jewish feminist theologian