Do feminism and faith mix?

#FFS is back! Sorry guys, I’ve been MIA during the month of May. But it is June and I have been thinking about and sourcing some new content. Today I want to talk about how feminism and faith interact – disclaimer I do not speak for or represent all feminists of faith, obviously.

I had an interesting conversation with a friend recently and they asked me how I can be a Christian and a feminist. Funnily enough, I also had a parallel conversation where I was asked how I can be a feminist, when I was in church. What it made me realise is that for a lot of people the two are completely separate, mutually exclusive, oil and water. BUt even more so both labels per se have very strong associations (what can I say, I am a strong-minded person).

But in all seriousness, I have been thinking about how being a person of faith and being a feminist relate. The reason I’ve been thinking about this is because faith shapes many of our values, beliefs and how we live so I think it’s important to think about what the bible, qua-ran, Torah or Tripitaka say about women.

As a Christian I can only reference the Christian faith. I have often wondered how I can be a Christian and a feminist myself. Especially when I read 1 Tim. 2:11-12, 1 Cor. 14:34-35. These verses I’ll be honest I do not understand and they frustrate me. The feminist in me has a critical eye open and I am seeking to understand what they mean, how they are relevant and in what context they relevant. In truth, I cannot profess to have all the answers by any stretch.

In the same vein, I believe in the fundamental equality of human beings. Not the sameness but their equality and the beauty in that diversity. I sound like a hippie, I know but I kind of am one. I believe we all have an innate value and that our worth or capability is not dictated by our gender. That’s one of the reason I am a feminist and interestingly my faith informs those beliefs.

It’s complicated. And I have considered how feminism also interacts with cultural values and norms, how it may be relevant. I also thought about whether feminism is an unhelpful political construct. All that being said what I think is important is being able to trash out the concept of feminism. That way I can be confident that I have not blindly chosen to be a feminist but have made and continue to make an informed decision.