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I know it’s been ages since I last answered a question about feminism, but Feminism FAQ has returned!!! Mainly because I’m writing this late at night, and I’m exhausted. So for Friday’s The F-Word, I’m answering a question about Christian feminism.
Remember last year, when I had that readers’ survey? One reader responded with the following question about feminism.
What is a Christian feminist, and how is it different from a non-Christian feminist? I read other non-Christian feminist blogs and there doesn’t seem to be one bit of difference between you and them.
That is a great question!
First of all, quite basically, a Christian feminist believes in Jesus and in gender equality. I could go into great detail about what it means to be a Christian or a feminist, but that’s the basic answer.
A non-Christian feminist, however, could be a lot of things. A non-Christian feminist could be an atheist, or could subscribe to another faith tradition. Jewish feminists, Muslim feminists, Hindu feminists, etc. all exist too.
Most feminists share a few basic beliefs. Like we all believe in gender equality. However, what differentiates Christian feminists from other feminists is that we work within a patriarchal religion to promote gender equality.
Check out a list of my favorite Christian feminist bloggers
For example, if you’re not a Christian, you probably don’t focus much energy on the ordination of women in Christian denominations. However, as a Christian feminist, women’s ordination matters greatly to me.
Purity Culture (and the subset Modesty Culture) are not unique to Christianity, but Christian feminists also work to combat the Christian versions. We oppose slut-shaming. We support women’s sexual choices and their clothing choices. Other feminists do this too, but Christian feminists use scripture to support our arguments.
Christian feminists like me aren’t just working within religious circles, however. That’s probably why my blog doesn’t seem all that different! My Feminism 101 posts address basic issues within feminism, that apply to all feminists.
Basically, Christian feminists and non-Christian feminists aren’t that different! Really, the major difference is that Christian feminists consider the entire Bible valid, and we work to change misogynistic attitudes from other Christians. Non-Christian feminists don’t believe in the Bible, and thus probably don’t care as much about sexist interpretations of biblical passages. (Edit: my Jewish aunt pointed out that Jewish feminists care about sexist interpretations of the Torah).
Have a question about feminism? Feel free to leave me a comment! Do you agree or disagree with my answer to this question?
