02.01.

05 WOMEN & MEN

OUTLINE

Traditional Attitudes

What is Feminism?

A Brief History of Feminism

Liberal Feminism
Cultural or Reformist Feminism
Radical Feminism
Socialist Feminism
Third Wave Feminism

Christian Feminist Theology

Revolutionary Feminist Theology
Reformist Christian Theology
Liberationist or Reconstructionist Feminist Theology

A Feminist Reading of the Text

Feminist Theologians ask the Hard Questions

Our Image of God, Our Language for God

Questions
Open Reflection
Reading & Resources

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 THE CHURCH
A series of graphic biblical images presents Christians as a worshiping community
that blends lifestyle with liturgy, culture with tradition and form with freedom. Studying
topics that Christians often approach differently; we try to learn from difference,
develop respect and find enrichment in greater understanding.
LEARNING GOALS:
Unit Objective: To enable Learners to recognise and understand the biblical
presentation and historical development of the Christian church as the community
and people of God in the world, with its teachings and sacraments
Module Objective: To explore, understand and carry out the practice, ordinances
and responsibilities of Christianity, incorporating different forms of worship,
relationship, community and organisation
Learners will:
identify key scriptures relating to the concept of the church
recognise why different Christian traditions have emerged
evaluate different scriptural passages relating to practice
reflect on the significance of their own church ordinances
Learners will acquire a knowledge and understanding of:
biblical images of the church
the implications of the images for contemporary Christians
the emergence and development of different traditions and practices
the areas of agreement and divergence within the Christian community
the relationship of the church to society
Session Learning Goal:
Learners will identify the key gender issues in current biblical and contemporary
debate and consider their impact on church and society.
Session Description:
Key gender issues in biblical and current debate

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 02.01.05 WOMEN & MEN

Traditional Attitudes

The brief for this particular workshop is to look at Feminism and Feminist Theology.

Rosemary Radford Reuther is a foremost feminist scholar, who, in her book Sexism
and God Talk blames the Early Church Father Augustine for Patriarchy. (At least in
its classical source.) It is from these earliest times that the notion of women as less
than men grew. Later, Thomas Aquinas developed Augustines thinking and the view
of woman, as a secondary being became set in Western Christian thinking and
practice. Woman came to be seen as temptress. Reuther writes:

Through the fall and in punishment for the fall, (woman) lost her original equality and
became inferior in mind and body. She is now within history, subjugated to the male
as her superior. 1

Augustine and Aquinas were not the only early Church theologians to take a very dim
view of women. Tertullian argued against insolent women who dared to teach,
participate in theological disputes, to exorcise, promise healings and baptise.2

Tertullian displayed great fear contempt and mistrust of women, accusing them of
tempting angels and men and calling them the devils gateway. 3

Christine de Pizan lived in France and died in 1430. She was a poet author and a
member of the court of Charles V. In Christines day, women could be blamed for
everything from infertility to plague, and were kept under rigid control. She was the
first woman to challenge in writing the prevailing thinking about women.

Until the twentieth century, women in most societies were excluded from equal
access to education and participation in public life. Women were assigned to the
home, to private space, where they were given the responsibility of creating a morally
sound environment in which future model citizens could grow.

What is Feminism?

Another French woman coined the term feminism in 1882. Her name was Hubertine
Auclert. Feminism is seen as a new worldview. It is a way of understanding the

1
Reuther, Rosemary Radford Sexism and God Talk: Towards a Feminist Theology SCM 1983
2
Fiorenza, Elisabeth Schussler In memory of Her; a Feminist Reconstuction of Christian Origins p55
3
ibid

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social structures through womens experience. It rejects the assigning of specific
roles to either males or females.

The feminist theologian Anne Clifford says that the terms feminine and feminist do
not mean the same thing. Feminine is an idea of how women should be.
Feminism is a point of view geared to the creation of a society that rejects decisions,
roles and categories based on sex alone. Clifford defines Patriarchy as male
advantage exercised over women, men of colour and other disadvantaged males.
Patriarchy refers to legal economic and political systems that legitimate and enforce
relations of domination in society4

At its best, feminism commits itself to the equality, dignity and humanity of all
persons. It looks at life through a set of values that are designed to nurture the world
and rescue forgotten people.

There are different types of feminism because women experience patriarchy in very
different ways.

A Brief History of Feminism

In the nineteenth century, the rise of feminism coincided with the Abolitionist
movement as women began to equate the subjugation of women with the lot of the
African American women under the yoke of slavery. This movement became known
as the First Wave of Feminism. However, with the abolition of slavery and the
securing of limited suffrage for women after the First World War, the feminist
movement went on to the back burner.

In the 1960s, what has come to be known as the Second Wave of Feminism began
In North America, liberation movements of various kinds began to join forces with the
African American people in their struggle against racism and other forms of
oppression. For many women involved in this struggle for civil rights, their collective
consciousness began to be raised as they reflected on their own lot in society. As
women began to come together and organise, a variety of feminist expressions
began to emerge.

Liberal Feminism

Has an emphasis on civil rights including the rights of women to make their own
decisions about sexual and reproductive health. Liberal feminism seeks the full
equality of all women in every facet of society, especially economic and political
equality.

Cultural or Reformist Feminism

This has an emphasis on the moral superiority of women. It values what it sees as
the special attributes of women, such as compassion, nurturing and peacemaking. It
seeks the betterment of society by stressing the contributions made by women.

4
Clifford, Anne Introducing Feminist Theology Orbis Books 2002)

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 Radical Feminism

This has an emphasis on the pervasiveness of male dominance as the cause of

societal ills. It stresses the importance of woman centred culture. It seeks to
eliminate patriarchy in order to liberate woman from control in every area of life
including family life. Many see this as the most threatening form of feminism.

Socialist Feminism

Has an emphasis on the dominance of the white male in the economic struggle of
capitalist societies. This form of feminism tends to see this dominance as the reason
for the division of labour according to sex and race, and the devaluing of womens
work, especially the work of raising children. It seeks to end the economic
dependence of women upon men, and to achieve major social reforms to end class
divisions.5

The weakness of the Second Wave of Feminism was that it failed to understand that
not all womens experience is the same. Those who led the Second Wave were, on
the whole, white middle class women who had benefited from higher education.

The African American poet Audre Lorde challenged the leaders of the Second
Wave, calling them to repent of making women unlike themselves invisible. As a
result of this challenge, exploratory conversations began to take place making it
possible for other women to have their say, and to relate their very different
experiences. These women began to coin new terms for themselves and their
feminism:

African American feminists refer to themselves as Womanist;

Mexican Americans coined the term Chicana;
Hispanic women use Mujerista or Latina;
Feminists of Spanish or Portuguese descent who have intermarried with African
and Native Americans some times call themselves Mestiza.

Third Wave Feminism

This is a liberation movement, which is committed to encouraging right relations at

every level of society, including non-human society. A new awareness of ecology
has been in large part the contribution of those who call themselves Eco-Feminist.

Christian Feminist Theology

Sadly, just as the Second Wave feminist leaders universalised their own experience,
so over the centuries has Christian Theology universalised the interests and
experience of white educated males.

In the 1970s and 80s this bastion of male preserve began to be challenged. More
and more women were entering theological education and began to realise that
theology was being taught from a different perspective to their own. The language
5
From Anne Clifford Intoduction to Feminist Theology p23

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used of God was very masculine, and women felt marginalized and in some cases
excluded.

Gradually, as feminist women began to become teachers of theology, they applied

the principles of feminism to the subjects they taught, and in the way they taught
them.

Just as there are different types of Feminism, so there are different types or strands
of Feminist Theology. Not all would see themselves as Christian today, though their
roots might lie in Christianity.

Revolutionary Feminist Theology

Radical feminists mostly advocate this strand of theology, many of whom would
consider themselves to be Post-Christian. These feminists see Christianity as
irredeemably patriarchal because of the centrality of a male God.

Reformist Christian Theology

This strand does not look for sweeping changes in Christianity. Instead these
feminists believe that the status of women in Christianity can be improved through
the use of inclusive language and a focus on egalitarian passages in the Gospels.

Liberationist or Reconstructionist Feminist Theology

These feminists are as committed to Christianity as the Reformists, but do not

consider reformists strategies to go far enough. Liberationists seek a deeper
transformation of church structures as well as of society as a whole. These feminists
remain convinced that the traditions ideas and symbols of Christianity can be
reinterpreted without abandoning the God revealed in Jesus Christ. Liberationist
Feminist Theology relies upon the method of conscientization, which means to raise
awareness.6

A Feminist Reading of the Text

This means paying attention to the language and teachings of authorities who
interpret the text.
For a feminist this will involve looking to see whether a given text promotes male
advantage at the expense of the dignity of women and disadvantaged men.

Feminist Theologians ask the hard questions.

It is important to understand that nobody reads the bible neutrally. All of us come to
the text with cultural assumptions. All of us are influenced by the times and places in
which we live. We are also influenced by our ethnicity and gender. This may be one
reason why in Romans 16:7 the two outstanding apostles mentioned by Paul are
seen as men. In fact, as far back as the fourth century, Jerome, who was no great
fan of women, recognised Junia as female.
6
I am indebted to Anne Clifford for the broad outlines of these strands.

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It has been the work of feminist scholars to recover women who have been rendered
invisible.

Our Image of God, Our Language for God

Language is a very powerful tool especially when used in worship. Is our language
for God faithful to the God who shows us what it is like to be God through the life of
Jesus who kept doubtful company and upset the powerful?

Does the language used in worship perpetuate the image of an all male all-powerful
God?

In his excellent book What Language Shall I borrow Brian Wren urges readers to
kick the habit of only ever referring to God through prayer and song in male terms.
We need to remember that all language for God can only ever be metaphorical. To
speak of God as Father, Lord, Shepherd King but never to draw on other metaphors
impoverishes us spiritually. It is good to remember that God is likened to an eagle
teaching her nestlings to fly, as like a mid-wife and a woman in labour.

Questions

1. What would be your response to someone who argued that the desire for women
in leadership is simply a response to the cultural influences of feminism rather than
the clear teaching of scripture?

2. What would be the obvious benefits to the leadership of a church where the team
consisted of both women and men as opposed to being exclusively male?

3. What do you think the debate about women and men teaches us about the
challenge of interpreting scripture?

Open Reflection

One feminist theologian has referred to the traditional references to the persons of
the Godhead, Father, Son and Spirit, as two men and a bird! What do you make of
this observation? Ought a parallel way of speaking about the Godhead be, Mother,
Daughter and Wisdom? Is it enough to say that Gods being embraces both
femininity and masculinity, while also being beyond gender, yet at the same time we
continue to use male language to speak of God? What practical steps do we need to
take to help people to use the inclusive God-language of scripture and experience?

Bibliography and Further Resources

Clifford, Anne Introducing Feminist Theology pub Orbis Books 2002

Edwards, Ruth The Case for Womens Ministry pub SPCK 1989
Fiorenza, Elisabeth Schussler In Memory of Her: A Feminist Reconstruction of
Christian Origins pub SCM 1983
Grey, Mary Introducing Feminine Images of God pub Sheffield Academic Press
2000

Workshop notes are copyright to Anvil Trust and may not be reproduced without permission 02.01.05.7
Isherwood, Lisa and McEwan, Dorothea Introducing Feminist Theology (2nd
edition) pub Sheffield Academic Press 2000
Jones, Serene Feminist Theory and Christian Theology pub Fortress Press 2000
Parsons, Susan Frank The Cambridge Companion to Feminist Theology pub
Cambridge University Press 2002
Reuther, Rosemary Radford Sexism and God Talk: Towards a Feminist
Theology pub SCM 1983
Storkey, Elaine Created or Constructed? The Great Gender Debate pub
Paternoster Press 2000
Thurston, Anne Knowing Her Place: Gender and the Gospels pub Gill &
Macmillan 1998
Trible, Phyllis Texts of Terror: Literary Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives
pub Fortress Press 1984
Walker, Alice The Colour Purple pub The Womens Press 1983
Wooten, Janet Introducing Practical Feminist Theology of Worship pub
Sheffield Academic Press 2000
Wren, Brian What Language Shall I Borrow? A Male Response to Feminist
Theology pub SCM 1989

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