What
is feminist theology and how has it impacted our world?
Consider
these words from Women in the World
Religions (edited by Arvind Sharma):
The symbolic
manifestations of a people’s sex role plan are found in the symbols of creative
power, for there is ‘a congruence between the gender of a people’s creator
god(s), their orientation to the creative forces of nature, and the secular
expressions of male and female power.
Scripts for female power … accord feminine symbolism and women a
prominent role in the sacred and secular domains … Generally speaking, when
males dominate, women play an inconsequential role in the sacred and secular
domains. Almost always in male-dominated
societies, the godhead is defined in exclusively masculine terms.’[i]
One
definition of Feminist Theology is that it “Reconsiders the traditions,
practices, scriptures, and theologies of religion from a feminist perspective
with a commitment to transforming religion for gender equality.” [ii]
Before
we explore this definition, I want to consider what both feminism and theology
mean.
What is “Feminism?”
“Feminism
is a range of movements and ideologies that share a common goal: to define,
establish, and achieve equal political, economic, cultural, personal, and
social rights for women.”[iii]
How
feminism manifests in our world has evolved over time, from women working to
get the right to vote to the use of social media to confront prejudice. Feminist ideology and theology has been and
is powerful and potentially life changing for all of us.
[i] (Sandy 1981, 6)
[iii] (Hawkesworth, M.E. (2006).
Globalization and Feminist Activism. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 25–27).
What is “Theology?”
Now
let’s look at theology. Theology is not
static. Prior to the 20th
century, theology focused primarily on a person’s relationship with their
god. Most modern theologians define
theology as a person’s or a religion’s answers to the ultimate questions of
meaning, purpose, existence, as well as one’s belief/nonbelief in a divinity,
in an afterlife, in a soul, and any other supernatural phenomena. Given
that feminism and theology are not static, let’s consider our definition again:
feminist theology “reconsiders the traditions, practices, scriptures, and
theologies of religion from a feminist perspective with a commitment to
transforming religion for gender equality.”
How does this definition speak to you today?
The Stories and Myths of Wise Women
Feminists
and Feminine Theologians are working to bring the stories and myths of strong
and wise women as well as religiously significant women to the attention of their
students and the public, not to discredit the male stories and myths, but to bring
balance the theology that is being taught.
They also are working to bring a feminine influence, a feminine voice, a
feminine sensibility into the patriarchal influence often inherent in the values,
beliefs, and traditions in all the world’s religions. This work ultimately helps us all to be less
blind to the role and significance of women in our world.
Blind Spots
So
often we, both men and women, are blind to how our culture influences us to suppresses,
minimize, and disregard women’s contributions in our religion. I know I have been blind. I preached a sermon many years ago in Austin,
Texas, at Wildflower Unitarian Universalist church on Father’s Day about the
relationship between fathers and sons. I
was approached by a woman afterward who was quite upset that I did not mention
the relationship between fathers and daughters as well. Twenty years ago, that
was something that flew under my radar. I’ve
become more mindful of identifying when Unitarian Universalist history has been
written by old white guys and doesn’t include the many women and people of
color who contributed to our movement in its early development.” I remind
myself to “reconsider the traditions … [of our Unitarian Universalist] religion
from a feminist perspective.”
Today’s Feminist Theology
Today’s
feminism and feminist theology is expanding our definitions of feminism, and impacting
our culture in new and different ways. Today’s
feminists are interested in inclusive language and strong women stories, but
they are also interested in defining who they are, embracing their individuality
and their rebelliousness—rebelling against cultural mores and traditions. They want, as women, to define their own sexuality
and their own lives independently of the dominant patriarchal society.
I
suggest that Feminism and Feminist Theology are all about pushing men and women
out of our cultural and religious comfort zones—to see the world in its
completeness, not just in terms of “man, mankind, father, brother or
brotherhood.” Women want out from under
a masculine cultural umbrella, with its gender dualities, and its black and
white absolutism. Today’s feminists accept
and embrace non-binary genders and all the colors of life.
Often
when we talk about spiritual exploration, it is all about letting go of
control, opening yourself up to something new, different, something that might
offer some insight or new awareness, something that opens your mind and
heart.
Not
being in control may give you some insight into what it can be like to be a
woman in a patriarchal society, where someone else makes decisions for you and
exerts control over your body—think about the laws in some states that are
obstructing a woman’s right to have an abortion.
Support Women’s Personal Authority and Voice
|
Women
might explore how to gain personal authority and identify a voice in a
culture that minimizes or attemps to suppress their voice
--Novene Vest |
In the book, Tending the Holy: Spiritual Direction Across Traditions, there is an interesting chapter on a Feminist Model for Spiritual Direction. The author, Novene Vest, asks us to consider looking at our spiritual work through a feminine lens. Vest says that telling a woman to “let go” to gain some insight doesn’t work as well; Vest suggests that women might instead want to explore how to gain personal authority and identify a voice in a culture that minimizes or attempts to suppress their voice.
She
goes on to consider the commonly used metaphor for spiritual work of taking a
journey, but offers this: “Might not a woman be more likely to find freedom in
an image that suggests a safe [enough] place … to conceive and then give birth
to a child? What would be the effect of
thinking of our basic spiritual practice as involving the rhythms of nesting,
gardening, creating a place of beauty…[imagining] a place long treasured, where
we had enjoyed watching the play of light and shadow shift with the seasons and
the years…cherished the rhythms of aging and dying and birthing again as they
appear in the cycle of all living things.”
I
am suggesting that in our spiritual, heart, or ethical work, we strive to blur
the lines of our cultural limits as we discern who we are as spiritual
beings. Do not allow your spiritual work
to be defined by what others say, perhaps it is a journey or perhaps it is
building a home, perhaps it is being out of control or perhaps it is finding
your authority.
|
Feminist Theology is about a willingness to buck the system,
to rebel against having your identity defined by anyone other than
yourself, to be willing to be moved and transformed by new ideas, new concepts,
new ways of seeing life
|
Feminist Theology is about a willingness to buck the system, to rebel against having your identity defined by anyone other than yourself, to be willing to be moved and transformed by new ideas, new concepts, new ways of seeing life. Feminism is for everyone, although it is through women’s experiences that we, humankind, can begin to see the world differently than we have been taught. Feminism and Feminist Theology challenge us to understand more, empathize more, stretch ourselves more than we would if we simply accepted the cultural messages we have been fed since birth.
Judy
Chicago, an American feminist artist, art educator, and writer, gives us some
insight into what our world and our theology might be like if we accept the
challenge that feminist theology offers:
And
then all that has divided us will merge
And
then compassion will be wedded to power
And
then softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind
And
then both men and women will be gentle
And
then both women and men will be strong
And
then no person will be subject to another's will
And
then all will be rich and free and varied
And
then the greed of some will give way to the needs of many
And
then all will share equally in the Earth's abundance
And
then all will care for the sick and the weak and the old
And
then all will nourish the young
And
then all will cherish life's creatures
And
then all will live in harmony with each other and the Earth
And
then everywhere will be called Eden once again
So
may it be.
Blessings,
Rev.
Tom
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