I appreciate the steadfastness of colleagues in religion who have maintained our feminist/womanist/mujerista commitments despite the changing fortunes of feminism in the public arena. I was heartened to read Alexandra Petri’s piece “Disentangling feminism from the fad of feminism” (Washington Post, Jan. 3, 2015.) in which she assured readers that […]
When I am reading online and offline newspapers, I am struck by the constant barrage of articles, editorials, and commentaries about the relentless misogyny in the world. Some topics seem to have regained visibility. One of them is the issue of sexual violence and rape. It was initially brought out into the open during the […]
Dungeons can be in our minds where we hold people captive to the illusions we have about them, but we think they are real, they are true, they are valid, and they sanction our treatment of them. . .and ourselves. They can be where we hold ourselves captive and believe the illusions we are told […]
Guest Author, Elias Ortega-Aponte is Assistant Professor of Afro-Latinos/a Religions and Cultural Studies at Drew University Theological School in Madison, NJ. Three days after the shooting of Mike Brown, President Obama issued a statement addressing the events. In this August 12 statement, the president urged the people of Ferguson, Missouri, and the nation, to […]
Join us for the following JFSR panel (P22-227) today, November 22nd, from 1:00 to 3:30pm, in Room 33 A (Upper level) – San Diego Convention Center (CC). Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza will be presiding over the panel and the theme will be “Sexual Violence and Sacred Texts.” We look forward to seeing you there! For more information, […]
Healthy communities celebrate early and often. I think we in feminist studies in religion are always in order when we lift up our own colleagues, herald their work, and underscore all that they contribute to the world. Technology makes creative modes of doing so easy and accessible. These are not gratuitous, feel-good exercises, but integral […]
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has made major news headlines over the past two months. The challenge went viral on social media this summer, but it didn’t start there. For a few years, various organizations have promoted “cold water challenges” that couple dosing friends with requesting donations. In summer of 2014, a few celebrity personalities […]
This past weekend, Michael Brown – another young and unarmed black man, was murdered. By the police. In response, his community of #ferguson, Missouri responded en masse. The predominantly African American community has taken to the streets and given voice and body to the shared grief, indescribable outrage, and deep wounds suffered by African American […]
A version of this blog was posted previously on Gathering Voices a blog of TheThoughtfulChristian.com. Consider the following two experiments. First, if you are on Facebook, have you probably noticed that many of your friends are missing from your newsfeed. It isn’t because they don’t post updates. It’s because their updates don’t fit with your […]
If I were a member of Congress (now there’s an idea for a second career) I would hire a religion major on my staff. Actually, I would hire someone trained in feminist studies in religion because I think such people have a strong handle on what is happening around the globe. Consider recent world events, […]