The Religious Imagination of American Women (Religion in North America)

""This book is a nuanced discussion of contemporary feminist thought in a variety of religious traditions. It draws from both academic and popular writings and offers a rich selection of books to pursue on one's own."" -- Re-Imagining ""This remarkable book examines American women's religious thought in many diverse faith traditions.... This is a cogent, provocative -- even moving -- analysis."" -- Publishers Weekly This study of the fruits of many different women's religious thought offers insights into the ways women may be shaping American religious ideas and world views at the end of the twentieth century. At its broadest, this book presents a multi-voiced response to the question: ""When women across many traditions are heard speaking theologically, publicly and self-consciously as women, what do they have to say?"" American Women As Religious Thinkers: Dissenting Participants -- Ambivalence As A New Religious Virtue: The Creativity Of Women's Contradictory Experiences Of Their Traditions -- The Immanence Of The Sacred: Women's Religious Thought Comes Down To Earth -- The Revelatory Power Of The Ordinary And The Ordinariness Of The Sacred: Mixed Blessings -- Relationship And Its Complexities: Inhabiting The Cosmic Web -- Healing And Women's Theological Creativity: Strategies Of Resistance, Acceptance, And Hope. Mary Farrell Bednarowski. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 189-232) And Index. "Explores five ideas that animate the theological imagination of women in religious communities throughout America: ambivalence toward tradition; the immanence, or indwelling, of the divine; the sacredness of the ordinary and the ordinariness of the sacred; the vision of the universe as a web of relationships; and healing as a central function of religion"--back cover Contents 7 Foreword 9 Acknowledgments 12 1 American Women as eligious Thinkers 15 2 Ambivalence as a New Religious Virtue 30 3 The Immanence of the Sacred 58 4 The Revelatory ower of the Ordinary and the Ordinariness of the Sacred 100 5 Relationship and Its Complexities 134 6 Healing and Women s Theological Creativity 164 Epilogue 198 Notes 203 Index 247 This is a book about American women's religious thought at the end of the twentieth century and about women as self-conscious, theologically creative participants in their own particular religious communities.