Feminist theology is a movement, generally in the Western religious traditions (mostly Christianity and Judaism), to reconsider the traditions, practices, scriptures, and theologies of those religions from a feminist perspective. Some of the goals of feminist theology include increasing the role of women among the clergy and religious authorities, reinterpreting male-dominated imagery and language about God, and studying images of women in the religion's sacred texts. Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on Jesus of Nazareth, known by Christians as Jesus Christ, and the New Testament accounts of his life, teachings, and actions. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people with around 15 million followers as of 2006 [1]. It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. ... Feminism is a diverse, competing, and often opposing collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies, largely motivated by or concerning the experiences of women. ... Michelangelos depiction of God in the painting Creation of the Sun and Moon in the Sistine Chapel Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, one of the manifestations of the ultimate reality or God in Hinduism This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ...

Feminism has had a great impact on many aspects of religious practice. In the liberal branches of Protestant Christianity, women are now ordained as clergy. In Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist Judaism, women are now ordained as rabbis and cantors. Within these Christian and Jewish groups, women's perspectives are now sought out in developing new statements of belief. Feminism is a diverse, competing, and often opposing collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies, largely motivated by or concerning the experiences of women. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. ... Reform Judaism can refer to (1) the largest denomination of Judaism in America and its sibling movements in other countries, (2) a branch of Judaism in the United Kingdom, and (3) the historical predecessor of the American movement that originated in 19th Century Germany. ... Conservative Judaism, also known as Masorti Judaism, is a modern denomination of Judaism that arose in United States in the early 1900s. ... Reconstructionist Judaism is a movement of Judaism with a relatively liberal set of beliefs: an individuals personal autonomy should generally override traditional Jewish law and custom, yet also take into account communal consensus, modern culture is accepted, traditional rabbinic modes of study, as well as modern scholarship and critical... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people with around 15 million followers as of 2006 [1]. It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. ... Rabbi (Classical Hebrew רִבִּי ribbī;; modern Ashkenazi and Israeli רַבִּי rabbī) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished, (in knowledge). In the ancient Judean schools (and among Sefaradim today) the sages... The word Cantor can mean more than one thing: Cantor is another name for a Hazzan, a member of the Jewish clergy Cantor is the title of a member of a student society who is the main singer at a cantus Famous people named Cantor include: Eddie Cantor, singer & entertainer...

Feminism has impacted other religious groups differently. Orthodox Judaism, the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, conservative Protestant denominations such as the Southern Baptists and the Confessional Lutherans (for example Missouri Synod Lutherans) do not ordain women as clergy. Orthodox Judaism is the stream of Judaism which adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmud (The Oral Law) and later codified in the Shulkhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law). It is governed by these works and the Rabbinical commentary... For other uses of the term, see Catholic Church (disambiguation). ... The Vladimir Icon, one of the most venerated of Orthodox Christian icons of the Virgin Mary. ... The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a United States cooperative ministry agency serving missionary Baptist churches around the world. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. ...

In the West, many Muslims have embraced women and men as equals, though different, seeking to appeal to the more egalitarian, secular West. Issues of woman as imams and polygamy are debated. However, the term Muslim feminist is disliked. The term Western world or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ... The term polygamy (literally many marriages in late Greek) is used in related ways in social anthropology and sociobiology. ... Islamic feminism is a term coined in the 1990s for a movement that has its roots in the early 20th century, but which expanded in the 1990s in response to the growth of Islamism throughout the Islamic world. ...

Although placing women in roles of religious leadership is an important issue to many, feminist theology attempts to consider every aspect of religious practice and thought. Some of the questions feminist theologians ask are:

• How do we do theology? The basic question of how theologians may go about creating systems of thought is being reinterpreted by feminist theologians. Many feminist theologians assert that personal experience can be an important component of insight into the divine, along with the more traditional sources of holy books or received tradition. (The relevance of personal experience to the policies of groups of people is a familiar notion to veterans of the feminist movement.)

• Who is God? Feminist theologians have pioneered the use of non- or multi-gendered language for God, holding that language powerfully impacts belief about the behavior and essence of God.

• Where are women in religious history? Feminist historical theologians study the roles of women in periods throughout history that have impacted religion: the Biblical period, the early Christian era, medieval Europe, and any period of import to a particular religion. They study individual women who influenced their religion or whose religious faith led them to impact their culture. The work of these scholars has helped feminist theologians claim historical figures as their predecessors in feminist theology. For example, Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I A Woman?" speech pointed out, "Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman. Man had nothing to do with him!" Elizabeth Cady Stanton produced the "Woman's Bible," excising the traditional Christian text of all references she thought contradicted the positions of women's rights.

Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It can also refer to the study of other religious topics. ... The Feminist movement (also known as the Womens Movement and Womens Liberation) campaigns on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, sexual harassment, discrimination and sexual violence. ... The word gender describes the state of being male, female, or neither. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her daughter Harriot. ...

The Bible

Problematic Passages

A large variety of biblical passages are used as authority to eliminate women from leadership roles, primarily in marriage and priest/pastorship. Some feminists reject the passages altogether while more conservatives believe they can be reconciled with feminism.

• Genesis 3.16 God makes Eve to desire her husband as a template for females.
• 1 Corinthians 113-16 Women are commanded to cover their heads in worship.
• 1 Corinthians 14.34-35 Women are told to be silent in church.
• Ephesians 5.22 Women are told to submit to their husbands.
• First Epistle to Timothy 2.11-12 Women are told to be quiet in church.

Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin), also called The First Book of Moses, is the first book of Torah (five books of Moses), and is the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of... Eleventh chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians. ... (Redirected from 1 Corinthians) See also: Second Epistle to the Corinthians and Third Epistle to the Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. ... The Epistle to Ephesians is one of the books of the Bible in the New Testament, written by Paul at Rome about the same time as that to the Colossians, which in many points it resembles. ... This article or section should be merged with Second Epistle to Timothy The First Epistle to Timothy is a book of the canonic New Testament, one of the three so-called pastoral epistles (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and the Epistle to Titus). ...

Supportive Passages

• Genesis 3.15 The Messiah is promised to woman.
• Exodus 15.20 Miriam is called a prophetess.
• Judges 4 Deborah leads the nation of Israel.
• Proverbs 31 10, 29 Women are commended when they are mighty.
• Nehemiah 16.14 The prophetess Noadiah is mentioned.
• Isaiah 8.3 An anonymous prophetess is mentioned.
• Book of Joel 2.28, 29 Prophesy that women and men will prophesy alike.
• Gospels Jesus shows no distinction between women and men to the denial of cultural norms.
• Acts of the Apostles 2.4 Mary, the mother of Jesus, and other women prophesy.
• Acts of the Apostles16.14-15 Lydia is identified as a deacon.
• Romans 16.1 A woman, Phoebe, is called a deacon.
• Romans 16.3 Priscilla is listed as above her husband, Aquila.
• Romans 16.7 A woman, Junias, is identified as an apostle.
• 1 Corinthians 11 3-16 Women are commanded to uncover their heads as a sign of authority.
• Galatians 3.28 "There is neither . . . male nor female for all are one in Christ Jesus."
• Ephesians 5.21 Husbands and wives are told to submit to each other.

Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin), also called The First Book of Moses, is the first book of Torah (five books of Moses), and is the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of... In Judaism, the Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ anointed one, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew , Aramaic , Arabic ) initially meant any person who was anointed by a prophet of God. ... This article is about the second book in the Torah. ... Miriam was the sister of Moses and Aaron, and the daughter of Amram and Jochebed. ... A prophet is a person who is believed to speak through divine inspiration. ... Book of Judges (Hebrew: ספר שופטים) is a book of the Bible originally written in Hebrew. ... Eishes Chayil is the text of the biblical Book of Proverbs chapter 31 verses 10-31. ... The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible, known to Jews as the Tanakh and to Christians as the Old Testament. ... Noadiah is a false prophetess of the Tenach (Old Testament. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... // Overview of Contents The book of Joel (MEW) is part of the Jewish Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, and also the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... For the genre of Christian-themed music, see gospel music. ... The Acts of the Apostles (Greek Praxeis Apostolon) is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ... Saint Mary and Saint Mary the Virgin both redirect here. ... The Acts of the Apostles (Greek Praxeis Apostolon) is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ... Lydia was the first convert to Christianity in Macedonia and a deacon, according to the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 16:14-15). ... The Epistle to the Romans is one of the epistles, or letters, included in the New Testament canon of the Christian Bible. ... Phoebe from Sesame Street In Greek mythology, Phoebe referred to several people. ... Deacon is a role in the Christian Church which is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. ... The Epistle to the Romans is one of the epistles, or letters, included in the New Testament canon of the Christian Bible. ... Priscilla could refer to: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, a movie Priscilla, an early Christian Priscilla, a French singer This is a disambiguation page—a list of articles associated with the same title. ... The term Aquila can refer to several things: Aquila is Latin for eagle. ... The Epistle to the Romans is one of the epistles, or letters, included in the New Testament canon of the Christian Bible. ... Junias (literally ιουνιαν) was a female apostle of the 1st century. ... Eleventh chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians. ... The Epistle to Galatians is a book of the New Testament. ... The Epistle to the Ephesians is one of the books of the Bible in the New Testament, traditionally said to be written by Paul at Rome about the same time as that to the Colossians, which in many points it resembles. ...

See also

• Religion : Christian views of women, God, Goddess worship, God and gender
• Theology : Liberation Theology, Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus
• Other : Feminism, When God Was a Woman, Li Tim-Oi