Women and Religion: A Bibliographic Guide to Christian Feminist Liberation Theology

Johanne M. Pelletier is an archivist and Ph.D. candidate in the
Department of History and Philosophy at the Ontario Institute for
Studies in Education.

Christian feminist liberationist theological writing developed out of
feminist interest in women’s involvement in and experiences of the
Christian church. This writing reflects a process of examining women’s
experience of the church, rejecting what is oppressive, reconstructing
what is positive or usable, and announcing women’s experiences as a
liberating source of new life.

This bibliography by Finson, an associate professor of Pastoral
Theology at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, brings together
a wide variety of Christian feminist resources. Included are books,
anthologies, journal articles, special issues, newsletters,
dissertations, reports, study kits, and other materials from 1975 to
1988. Also included are selected earlier works from 1969 to 1975 that
address the subject of women and the church from this perspective. While
the majority of the entries are English works examining Christian
experience, there are selected entries in French and some readings on
Jewish-Christian dialogues, Goddess and Wiccan traditions, and
Christianity in nonindustrialized nations.

Among the guide’s most interesting parts are the introduction and
scope notes that define the range and limits for each chapter. These
demonstrate the multidisciplinary nature of feminist methodology, and
the foundation of Christian feminist liberationist writing. These
sections are accessible to an audience unfamiliar with the topic, and
transform this bibliography into an essential reference and research
tool for feminist scholars interested in the Christian church as well as
for teachers, ministers, and theologians.