User:Eamartin33/Rosemary Radford Ruether

Rosemary Radford Ruether (born 1936) is an American feminist scholar and Catholic theologian known for her significant contributions to the field of feminist theology.

She has been referred to as one of the major Christian feminist theologians of our time. Her field of knowledge and writing is vast, with subjects ranging from feminist theology and ecofeminist theology, to topics such as Anti-Semitism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Ruether is an advocate of women's ordination, a movement among Catholic religious persons who affirm women's capacity to serve as priests, despite official sanction. Since 1985 Ruether has served as a board member for the pro-choice group Catholics for Choice.

Feminist theology
According to Ruether, women are excluded in academic and leadership roles within theology, which has lead to the proliferation of male-centric attitudes and beliefs. Without women able to contribute to the important discussions and decisions surrounding Christian theology and practice, there will never be an equal representation of women's experience in theological beliefs and traditions. Ruether believes that classical theology and its traditions ignore the female experience, which perpetuates the idea that women are secondary in relation to men. According to Ruether, feminist theology can expose and work to change the inherently discriminatory system. Her belief is that we have to presume that anything that lessens the humanity of women must not be a reflection of divine intent. The most important principle of feminist theology, according to Ruether, is the promotion of the full humanity of women in Christian theology and traditions. To do this, not only does the female experience have to be acknowledged and codified, but the very understanding of things such as experience and humanity must be reevaluated.

Woman-Church
Institutional changes that are necessary in order for the church to meet the needs of women are not being made, so Ruether advocates for the emergence of feminist based communities (the Woman-Church).

Eco-Feminism
Ruether was the first person to connect the domination of our earth with the oppression of women.