Catholic and Feminist
The Surprising History of the American Catholic Feminist Movement
Mary Joanne Henold
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Published: 06/2012
Pages: 304
Subject: Religion, Social Science
| University of North Carolina
Print ISBN: 9.78E+12
eBook ISBN: 9781469606668
DESCRIPTION
Catholic feminism grew from within the church, rooted in women's own experiences of Catholicism and religious practice, Henold argues. She identifies the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), an inspiring but overtly sexist event that enraged and exhilarated Catholic women in equal measure, as a catalyst of the movement within the church. Catholic feminists regularly explained their feminism in terms of their commitment to a gospel mandate for social justice, liberation, and radical equality. They considered feminism to be a Christian principle.
Yet as Catholic feminists confronted sexism in the church and the world, Henold explains, they struggled to integrate the two parts of their self-definition. Both Catholic culture and feminist culture indicated that such a conjunction was unlikely, if not impossible. Henold demonstrates that efforts to reconcile faith and feminism reveal both the complex nature of feminist consciousness and the creative potential of religious feminism.