Posted on May 23, 2022
Rosemary Radford Ruether, a founding mother of feminist theology, has died at age 85
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https://www.npr.org/2022/05/22/ [login to see] /rosemary-radford-ruether-feminist-theologian-dies-at-age-85
One of the founding mothers of feminist theology has died. Rosemary Radford Ruether was among the first scholars to think deeply about the role of women in Christianity, shaking up old patriarchies and pushing for change.
Ruether died in California on Saturday at the age of 85 after battling a long illness, according to the theologian Mary Hunt, who announced the death in a statement on behalf of Ruether's family.
"Dr. Ruether was a scholar activist par excellence. She was respected and beloved by students, colleagues, and collaborators around the world for her work on ecofeminist and liberation theologies, anti-racism, Middle East complexities, women-church, and many other topics," the statement said.
"Her legacy, both intellectual and personal, is rich beyond imagining. The scope and depth of her work, and the witness of her life as a committed feminist justice-seeker will shine forever with a luster that time will only enhance."
One of the founding mothers of feminist theology has died. Rosemary Radford Ruether was among the first scholars to think deeply about the role of women in Christianity, shaking up old patriarchies and pushing for change.
Ruether died in California on Saturday at the age of 85 after battling a long illness, according to the theologian Mary Hunt, who announced the death in a statement on behalf of Ruether's family.
"Dr. Ruether was a scholar activist par excellence. She was respected and beloved by students, colleagues, and collaborators around the world for her work on ecofeminist and liberation theologies, anti-racism, Middle East complexities, women-church, and many other topics," the statement said.
"Her legacy, both intellectual and personal, is rich beyond imagining. The scope and depth of her work, and the witness of her life as a committed feminist justice-seeker will shine forever with a luster that time will only enhance."
Rosemary Radford Ruether, a founding mother of feminist theology, has died at age 85
Posted from npr.org
Theology
Religion
Christianity
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Her books are required reading in many theology schools
She paid a price for her activism. A Catholic university once took back a job offer because she served on the board of Catholics for Choice, an abortion rights group. Despite her challenge of Catholic dogma, Ruether continued to self-identify as a Catholic, and much to the dismay of some conservative Catholics, she became part of the canon herself: many of her four dozen books and hundreds of articles were required reading in theology schools. Where Ruether isn't on the syllabus of a feminist theology class, books by her students — and their students — certainly are.
At the 2002 Harvard conference, Ruether reflected on what inspired her and gave her the courage to challenge male church authority. She turned to the summer of 1965, when she volunteered with the Delta Ministry in Mississippi. She saw a dorm at a Black college that had been sprayed with bullets and visited a town under siege by the KKK.
"I experienced what white America looks like from the context of Black people in Mississippi," she said. "That was the kind of defining moment for me; when one had to decide, are you going to be governed by fear, or are you going to go ahead?"
Ruether went ahead."
..."Her books are required reading in many theology schools
She paid a price for her activism. A Catholic university once took back a job offer because she served on the board of Catholics for Choice, an abortion rights group. Despite her challenge of Catholic dogma, Ruether continued to self-identify as a Catholic, and much to the dismay of some conservative Catholics, she became part of the canon herself: many of her four dozen books and hundreds of articles were required reading in theology schools. Where Ruether isn't on the syllabus of a feminist theology class, books by her students — and their students — certainly are.
At the 2002 Harvard conference, Ruether reflected on what inspired her and gave her the courage to challenge male church authority. She turned to the summer of 1965, when she volunteered with the Delta Ministry in Mississippi. She saw a dorm at a Black college that had been sprayed with bullets and visited a town under siege by the KKK.
"I experienced what white America looks like from the context of Black people in Mississippi," she said. "That was the kind of defining moment for me; when one had to decide, are you going to be governed by fear, or are you going to go ahead?"
Ruether went ahead."
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