feminist theology

what is it

• christian movement which reconsiders traditions, practices and scriptures from feminist perspective

• incr role of women among clergy/ religious authorities, reinterpreting male-dominated imagery and lang abt god

• god doesn’t discriminate on basis of sex + race

sallie mc fague lang of theology

• lang of christian theology is a human creation which limits understanding of god

• what we know of god as father etc is an interpretation- not literal

• habits of lang are useful, but become constricting when we insist that god is always (and ONLY) like this

sallie mcfague and metaphors of god

• metaphors are at the heart of how we speak abt god→ help us conceptualise god

• common metaphors are shaped by socio-political factors and loaded, gendered terms

• terms used to describe god are masculine (king, lord, etc), which conjures up oppressive associations of ownership and patriarchy

• SO: patriarchal influences → gendered metaphors → perpetuates patriarchal ideas

• ‘trick’ to new metaphors → have more inclusivity (e.g. JC + martha and mary) + gender neutrality

  • god as mother → stresses that god is beyond male and female; associated w beginning of life + nurture

  • the world as god’s body

STRENGTH: led to more inclusive gender neutral language in liturgy

• 2023 pope francis received members of the International Theological Commission at the Vatican, where he reminded them that the Church is ‘female’ and a ‘bride’.

  • ‘The church is female and if we do not understand what a woman is, what the theology of a woman is, we will never understand what the church is. one of our great sins has been masculinizing the church’

  • pope francis ordered for the demasculinisation of the church through the mystical, real way

• protestant denominations (CoE and Wales)

  • gender-neutral lang accepted, as it avoids what many regard as obstructive use of masculine imagery

  • in 2023 church said it would launch a new commission on the matter of addressing god w neutral pronouns

COUNTER to incl lang

• 1 corinthians 14:34 → ‘women should remain silent in the churches. they are not allowed to speak, but myst be in submission, as the law says’

• march 2008 vatican decreed that god must always be regarded as ‘father’ and that anyone who has been baptised w the name of god as gender-neutral (creator, redeemer, sanctifier) must be re-baptised in trad way.

  • in same way, marriages using these terms are invalud

  • cardinal urbano navarette declared that any priest using gender-neutral terms would be penalised, as. such words were ‘illigitimate and unjust’

• in the ratzinger report, the then pope wrote ‘ what feminism promotes in its radical form is no longer the christianity that we know’

reclamation of women’s voices within the bible

• Rosemary Radford Ruether  argued that feminist theology critiques patriarchal structures and highlights the marginalization of women in religious texts and institutions

• the exclusion of women from theological academic and leadership roles has led to the proliferation of male-centric attitudes and beliefs

• By reinterpreting scripture through a feminist lens, it has opened spaces for women to participate more fully in religious leadership and theological scholarship

• For example, Ruether’s work in Sexism and God-Talk (1983) reimagines God as both male and female, challenging the dominance of male imagery in Christianity. This has empowered women to see themselves as equally created in the image of God, fostering greater gender equality in religious communities.

WEAKNESS: counter to r.r. ruether- wayne grudem

• Wayne Grudem, argue that Ruether imposes modern feminist ideals onto ancient texts, rather than interpreting them in their historical and cultural contexts.

• 1 Timothy 2:12 (“I do not permit a woman to teach or assume authority over a man”) is often cited as a direct challenge to Ruether’s reclamation efforts. Critics claim that attempting to reinterpret such passages undermines religious authority

• Critics argue that Ruether engages in selective reading of biblical texts, emphasizing passages that align with her feminist perspective while downplaying those that present a more traditional patriarchal structure.

WEAKNESS: Complementarianism

• idea that men + women have different roles w/in family + religious life

• Some Christians interpret the Bible as prescribing a complementary view of gender, and therefore adhere to gender-specific roles that preclude women from specific functions of ministry within the community

• Within a Christian marital relationship, complementarianism prescribes headship and servant leading roles to men, and support roles to women, being based upon the interpretation of certain biblical passages.

• One precept of complementarianism is that while women may assist in decision-making processes, the ultimate authority for the decision lies in the headship responsibility of the male.

COUNTER to complementarianism

• Feminist theologians argue that complementarianism denies women agency, particularly in spiritual leadership.

• Elizabeth Johnson, a Catholic feminist theologian, critiques complementarian models of leadership as excluding women from full participation in theological discourse and decision-making.

• She asserts that restricting women from pastoral roles reinforces the perception that women are spiritually subordinate, limiting their contributions to Christian thought and practice.

• complementarian teachings on submission in marriage, arguing that they can contribute to justifying domestic inequality and even abuse.

• religious communities that uphold rigid gender roles often fail to recognize the harm caused by these teachings, particularly when they discourage women from seeking independence or protection from abusive relationships.