WIT is written from an anti-kyriarchal Christian ecumenical theological perspective by graduate students in theology. It’s important to be aware that despite our acronym (WIT for “women in theology”) we do not claim to speak for all women; we have chosen to adopt this name for our blog to maintain a connection with a group of women scholars who have served as mentors and inspirations to us and who themselves had a group called “WIT” in graduate school. . At the same time, we do not write as a unitary voice on this blog. We hope that our diverse theological perspectives and many ways of naming our commitment to the full social, political, economic, domestic, and ecclesiastical equality of women can emerge through this collaboration. Within this collaboration, some of us self-identify as feminists and others do not. Recognizing the inappropriate employment of feminism as a means of exerting control over other women and groups, we believe it is important not to impose this term on those of us who explicitly do not self-identify in this way. Still, because the history of Christian theology is one in which women have been spoken about (by men) much more than they have been allowed to speak for themselves, we seek to add our voices to a theological conversation that remains male-dominated. Our group is currently predominately Catholic, but includes former, current, and future Protestants; on the whole, we are committed to ecumenical dialogue.
The original concept was developed in response to the realization that discussions of women in religion constitute something of a void on the Internet. We hope to contribute to filling this void. And, while we are all currently graduate students in theology (you can see more details about our programs and academic interests on our “Authors” page), and we will certainly write about academic issues, we also hope to address a wide variety of other topics.
Please see our comment policy here.
If you need to contact any of the authors or the blog in general you can email us at witheology@gmail.com.
This looks like a great initiative. I look forward to reading more as you grow. You have an impressive authorship. Not only is “women’s theology” underrepresented on the theo-blogsphere, as well are multi-authorship blogs. I myself am a “women in theology” in my tail end of a BA at Canadian Mennonite University with interests in ethics and philosophy. And, as a bit of shameless promotion, if I might, feel free to check out the blog I’m a part of at http://ortusmemoria.wordpress.com.
Thanks so much! Things are working well for us so far…
We’ll check your blog out ASAP!
Elizabeth
Thank God for this! Keep the quality material coming.
Um … what does “anti-kyriarchal” mean, please?
Thanks.
Valerie
The term “kyriarchy” was developed by feminist theologian Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza– “meaning the rule of the emperor/master/lord/father/husband over his subordinates” (that’s from Jesus: Miriam’s Child, Sophia’s Prophet, page 14). The point is to recognize that sexism intersects with other oppressions like racism, classism, heterosexism. When we say that we are anti-kyriarchal we are saying that we oppose all forms of oppression on this blog.
Thank you for the prompt response. Yes – that makes a great deal of sense to me, especially since I have seen the word used in connection with other blog posts tagged “transgender”, etc.
Now I am starting to think about this word, “anti-kyriarchal”, and must go explore some more …
Again, many thanks -
Valerie
I’ve just discovered WIT. I don’t remember how I arrived at this site, but I’m so glad I did. Thank you.
I arrived here via my husband suggesting I read http://womenintheology.org/2010/11/12/womens-experience-part-i-an-introduction-to-the-problem/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews as I start ordination training in England next week, via an MA. I think he was trying to tell me something
Yours is a blog I feel I ought to look at in more detail, but fear. This is because of the language you use. Is it really necessary to use theological terms the ordinary reader struggles with, even a prospective priest who already has a FdA in theology and is meant to understand some of it! I will try to follow for a few weeks, from this side of the pond and see what I make of your discussions.
However, it does strike me, that if you really want to open up debates so that as a result of them people might understand their own relationship with God better (which is part of my simplified understanding of what theology is for) it would be very helpful to us of smaller brains, if you could explain terms as you use them in your writing, so that we can understand at contribute to your material more easily.
thank you for the suggestion. this is something we are working on and will continue to work on in the future. thanks for reading.
Very happy to see the kind of work you all are doing here. Looking forward to reading the new–and old–posts. Thanks!–Tony
Welcome, Tony!