Feminism and Spirit

Spiritual Hunger Meets Feminist Thirst

by Susie Johnson

Director of the Washington Office of Public Policy, Women's Division, GBGM-USM.

Reconciliation commonly suggests a restoration of Harmony with others, but on a deeper level it can mean becoming consistent or congruous with oneself. To establish consistency with oneself is to reclaim the real self underneath the layers of imposed restrictions; it is to recognize how like other women we are, how much we needed then to grow on, an how good it is to appreciate these connections. This act of reconciliation admits respect for the common world we have shared; it is that essential ingredient of tradition: a dialogue with brave and imaginative women who came before us.[1]

In her book Faith and Feminism: A Holy Alliance, Dr. Helen Hunt discusses the history of faith-based feminism. The first example she sites in her book is the abolitionist feminists of the 19th century. "These were women of color as well as white women, who knew that their country was founded on the ideal of 'liberty and justice for all,' and decided to take this declaration at face value. They took offense at the idea of a liberty that was for white men only. The same rights belonged to men and women of color, to poor people, to immigrants, to children; all humans were deserving." [2]  In 1848, a group of women came together and created The Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions. This event marked the beginning of the women's suffrage movement in the United States. The women present at this event were part of a larger movement for radical justice that propelled by religious beliefs. [3] They created a document guided by their beliefs that stated; We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; that among there are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. [4]

Throughout history women, many guided by their beliefs, have continued to struggle for women's rights. Today with the increase in diversity of religions in the United States the landscape of women's spiritual activism is changing. In her recent book, Dr. Amy Caiazza writes, "Women religious activists, particularly around social justice issues, are creating and promoting a distinct public vision for American politics and society. Their focus on stewardship, compassion, individual dignity, and interconnectedness as political values challenges basic ideas about the roles of individuals and government in American society and transforms concepts of rights, public life, and social policy." [5]

In its United Nations 2005 World Summit Outcomes Report, the Beijing and Beyond Monitoring Group noted, "The current environment is dominated by global trends antithetical to rights and justice." Since the 1970's the continuously evolving international movement to improve the status of women has given visibility to the concerns women have and the centrality of women's participation in the social, political, and economic life of their countries and the world. Through networks and coalitions, concerted activism became a vehicle for bringing together the practical application of political practices to analysis. This July, the intersection of activism and spiritualism framed a Feminism and Spiritual Activism gathering, which took place at the University of California Berkeley. It was the beginning of a conversation on an agenda for changing women's lives and transforming American society. This unique conversation, based on a conviction of women's moral agency, placed the spotlight on spirituality as essential to American women's past, and key to achieving future gender quality.

At the forefront of such activism has been the examination of how women themselves define and articulate their analysis of both problem and solution to social marginality. In 2005, the International Center for Research on Women issued a report entitled Toward Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women. It states, "Gender inequality is deeply rooted in entrenched attitudes, societal institutions, and market forces that vary from community to community, different steps are needed in different countries." [6]

The report analyzed measures to be taken to:
1. Strengthen opportunities for secondary education of girls while meeting the commitments to universal primary education
2. Guarantee sexual and reproductive health
3. Invest in infrastructure to reduce women's and girls' time burdens
4. Guarantee women's and girls' property and inheritance rights
5. Eliminate gender inequalities in employment by decreasing women's reliance on informal employment, closing gender gaps in earnings, and reducing occupational segregation
6. Increase women's share of seats in national parliaments and local governmental bodies
7. Combat violence against girls and women. [7]

A feminist analysis places women-in all their diversity-at the center of the agenda. The Feminism and Spiritual Activism dialogue named the personal, structural cultural/spiritual and institutional causes of women's oppression. Uttered words of those present countered the abstraction of the ideal, and challenged the promises of rhetoric. With the consciousness of both pain and power, real lives and actual experiences of women revealed continuous struggles around measures to deal with sexism, affirmation of family, patriarchy in denominational structures, time constrains, healthy living, and credibility of the Feminine Divine, et al.

Real stories gave evidence to spiritual power and muted anger as part of the process of creating a substantiation of self in a world of peace. Truth telling gave voice to yearnings to breach the chasms, which separate us from each other, the impatience of systems stubbornly unyielding to our efforts to change the world.

The outcome of our conversations, while not a consensus, established an array of visions for constructing change and building support. We ended with a commitment to enlarge the circle of voices speaking to women as spiritual change agents. As Tikkun plans a 2006 East Coast convening, we invite you to join us as we search for new language and symbols that lay claim to [our] freedom. In solidarity, we enlist your spiritual participation as a builder of peace and a world of justice for women.

[1] Rich, Adrienne. Conditions for Work: the Common World of Women (1976) in On Lies, Secrets and Silence: Selected Prose 1966- 1978, W.W. Norton and Company, New York, 1978, p.20S.

[2] Helen, Ph.D. Hunt. Faith and Feminism: A Holy Alliance Atria. July 20,2004

[3] The Archives of Women in Theological Scholarship: Preserving a Fragile Legacy (web page).

[4] Seneca Falls Declaration (1848). (web page)

[5] Caiazza, Ph.D. Amy. The Ties that Bind: Women's Public Vision for Politics, Religion, and Civil Society. Institute for Women's Policy Research. Research-in-Brief. IWPR #1915. June 2005.

[6] International Center for Research on Women. Toward Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women. 2005.

[7] Ibid.