Feminist theology is a branch of the
Christian tradition which aims to look at the
Bible through the
lens of the
female experience. Specifically, it examines the roles and portrayal of women in the
Bible, as well as "
engendering" the image of God, by means of God's
attributes, This branch of theology is not necessarily related to "
feminist movements" -- and indeed, the term was
controversial before being adopted, for this reason. It has, however, been known to cast
criticism over the sometimes-
patriarchal
worldview of the church at large, and at very least, has a secondary emphasis on looking for new
insights that may have been missed or
glossed-over in years of male-dominated research. Finally, to some degree, it has also been aligned with the idea of
liberation theology, in some circles.
One of of the better known names in the field include
Phyllis Trible, perhaps the foremost known
North American feminist theologian. Her work, "Feminist
Hermeneutics and Biblical Studies" focuses much on the
portrayal of women in the
Old Testament and implies that
feminist imagery, such as
Psalms 22:9-10 (which illustrates God as a
midwife), has historically been overlooked.
Another important name in the field is that of
Rosemary Radford Ruether, a
Catholic feminist theologian who is also a prominent writer on issues confronting
modern Christianity.
Other important figures include
Sallie McFague, who reflected on the
feminine nature of God, as well as
Sharon Welch and
Anne Carr.
Works Referenced:
The Christian Theology Reader, ed.,
Alister E. McGrath. (c)1995, Blackwell Publishers, Ltd., Oxford, UK.
Faith Seeking Understanding,
Daniel L. Miglore. (c)1991, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan
The author of this writeup does not profess to be an expert in this field, and encourages others to augment this topic with other writeups. Surprised, however, to find that there was no existing node already, the author decided it was best to try and take a stab at it.