1st Student's Major
Gender and Women's Studies
1st Student's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Students' Professional Biography
Amanda Slowinski is a sophomore at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She is a Women’s Studies major and French minor. She grew up in Forest Lake, MN and currently still lives there. Her family consists of three sisters along with her mother and father. Some of Amanda’s interests are: reading, biking, singing, dancing, photography, spending time with her family and relatives, and spending time with friends. Amanda became a Women’s Studies major because she felt a connection after she took an introduction class. She felt she shared the same concerns that Women’s Studies has about social justice issues. Women’s studies seemed like the best major to give her great opportunities. This research project Christian Feminism: Women Pastors and Feminism was not only an important project for the class WOST 330 Feminist Research and Action, but it was a personal journey for herself. She did not know where in the realm of feminism she fit. Amanda knew she was a feminist, and she also considered herself a Christian. She wondered if Christian Feminism even existed. The message she received from society was that they cannot exist together. This project was a journey. She found that she agrees with everything that Christian Feminism encompasses. She now considers herself a Christian Feminist. Christian Feminism is a topic she would like to continue to learn about and research, as well as issues about gender and the roles society has assigned to them.
Mentor's Name
Jocelyn Fenton Stitt
Mentor's Department
Gender and Women's Studies
Mentor's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
Christian feminism is a belief system, ideology, and an identity of feminism that combines Christian beliefs with feminist theory. Using the methodology of oral history, I interviewed two female pastors in southern Minnesota. I wanted to know how they dealt with issues such as women’s place in the church, abortion, sexist behavior, sexuality, gender roles, the gender of god, and inclusive language while being a pastor. I also investigated why the two women I spoke with either chose to identify themselves as a Feminist or not. I analyzed the interviews using theoretical perspectives from Christian feminist, feminist, and religious texts to show the relationship between Christianity and feminism, as well as why one would or would not identify with Christian feminism while being a pastor. This project was something that has interested me for quite sometime. I am a Christian, and I also identify myself as a feminist. I was not sure where in the branches of feminism I actually fitted in. Also, before this project, I did not know or meet anyone who claimed both of these identities. I thought talking to these women would help with my personal journey, to figure out where in the realm of feminism I wanted to be. I also was not sure if there were other young women like me wondering if it was okay to be Christian and a feminist at the same time. Thus, shedding light on this issue was done to help not only myself but also others like me. While this oral history project does not attempt to reflect the views of all feminist Christian women, the purpose of my research was to obtain a fuller understanding of Christian feminism.
Recommended Citation
Slowinski, Amanda A.
(2007)
"Christian Feminism: Female Pastors and Feminism,"
Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato: Vol. 7, Article 14.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56816/2378-6949.1101
Available at:
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/jur/vol7/iss1/14
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