Toward A Christian Maternal Feminist Theology

Abstract

If female voices have been silenced over the years, mothers' voices have been silenced most of all. Feminists have historically often renounced motherhood as the primary condition men utilize to enforce female subjugation, while academic and theological institutions have and continue, in some cases, to block women from opportunities to study and serve. Conversely, motherhood has been idolized as the ultimate purpose of a woman's life in many Christian contexts. Thus, the concerns of Christian theology and feminism have often been considered at odds by members of each camp.I seek here to answer the question, Is there a means by which we might move past patriarchy toward a Christian feminist theology that is pro-rather than anti-maternal? I will examine the anti-maternal bent apparent in the work of feminist scholars, then turn to a consideration of the idea of vulnerability common to the concerns of theologians, feminists, and mothers. In the Incarnation, these concerns take physical shape in the vulnerable body of Christ, who brings them all together. Therefore, the maternal body may be seen as a threshold and icon providing a way past patriarchy and toward a Christian maternal feminist theology.