Feminist Theology

In a modern society arguably disenchanted with religion, numerous Western women are transfixing their reality by making God in their own image. This compelling phenomenon is known as ‘the Goddess Movement’: a non-centralised religious current of neo-pagan origin that reveres the Divine as feminine. The revival of Goddess worship in a vastly secular age which appears not to favour religious devotion is a peculiar occurrence and leads to the following question: Why are women returning to a previously defunct spiritual practice? Building on the research scholars Paul Reid-Bowen and Janet L. Jacobs conducted on Western Goddess worship, as well as drawing on testimonies of Goddess followers, this article aims to elucidate the appeal the Goddess Movement holds for women. It argues that it represents a notable turn in female spirituality which demonstrates that images of feminine divinity offer women the opportunity to find meaningfulness, empowerment, and sexual or psychological healing.

Writers starting with Tertullian and the author behind the Didascalia Apostolorum attest to the presence of early Christian women baptizers, as do a variety of later writers. The early Christian tradition of Holy Spirit as female and mother, her womb the font of new birth (Jn 3.3-5), helps illuminate why women may have been seen as the midwives, or ministers, of this birthing ritual. Likewise, the identification of the font as a womb adds to Jocelyn Toynbee’s 1964 proposal that a scene on the Walesby Tank, a fourth-century Romano-British baptismal font, portrayed two clothed women assisting a nude female neophyte at her baptism.

This article is a queer reading of the doctrine of miraculous conception and an exploration into how applying an intersex lens to these conception texts can liberate an intersex Jesus. In it, I explain the basics of intersex and otherwise queer theologies, before looking at sex difference in the New Testament through the figures of eunuchs, and conducting an intersex reading of Jesus’ conception and biology. I argue that, if we believe Mary to be a virgin at the moment of Jesus’ conception, with no external male influence, then Jesus is necessarily a chromosomal ‘female’ (and therefore intersex, due to his ‘male’ physical appearance). I then discuss the ways in which his biology can transcend prescriptive roles of sex, mirroring how his social behaviour transcends prescriptive roles of gender. What this queer reading of Jesus can tell us relates to a gender-expansive view of deity – troubling rigid Church institutions by celebrating the breaking of binaries that constrain us.

Although the term mental illness is problematic, it is unavoidable for those most deeply harmed by it. In contrast to some current theological responses to mental illness, fully intersectional responses recognize not only gender, race, and class but also religion as a factor in some mental illness experience. A panentheistic theological response begins with a relational ontology, understands bodily diversities as part of finitude, and affirms the already-beloved identity of persons living with mental illness. This starting point of original blessing rather than original sin dismantles stigma rather than obscuring it through associating mental illness with the Fall. A theology of Spirit as that which opens to and empowers possibilities within repeated losses and turmoil responds to mental illness without minimizing suffering.

Muslim marriages are essentially a contract entered into by two consenting adults. It emphasizes the need to lay down the terms of the contract and also ensures financial safeguards to women getting married. The financial safeguards are provided through provision of Mahr – a payment made or committed by the groom towards the bride at the time of Nikah. This article examines the practice of giving and taking Mahr. The findings of the study suggest a huge difference between the actual prescribed way and the practised way of giving Mahr. Due to lack of awareness among women about their rights and the social and cultural practices dominating the practice, Mahr, instead of being a safeguard, becomes a source of bondage into abusive marriages for women.

This article theorises how home altars can support healing, individuation and personal transformation. It is informed by theory pertaining to Jungian sandplay therapy and Donald Winnicott’s ideas about transitional space and the holding environment. The methodology is grounded in a critical reflexive autobiographical approach that illustrates how altarplay can support the practitioner when negotiating a difficult shift from Christian to postchristian space.

It is argued that the thought of Lady Jane Grey has received too little attention, and that her name and beliefs need to be resuscitated. The work of Levin, DeLisle and others is alluded to, and it is concluded that Grey was a devoted Dissenter of her time with explicit beliefs