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Defecting in Place: Women Taking Responsibility for Their Own Spiritual Lives

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I read this book as part of a course on women in world religions, and it has remained dear to me ever since. It is essentially the findings of a study on how feminist women relate to Protestant and Roman Catholic Christianity, told through quotes from their responses to the study questions. There is some commentary on the responses, which provides a valuable framework through which to view them, but the real power of this book comes from hearing the struggles and triumphs of women in the church (and out of the church) in their own words, as they try to come to terms with spirituality and God without sacrificing their own personhood. If you have felt alienated from the church because of your gender, you are not alone! I would recommend it to any woman who has committed herself to a spiritual path and who is struggling to find her place in what is essentially a patriarchal religion. I wish more male priests and pastors would read this book as well, because it would really open some eyes as to what women are feeling and thinking and how much we are often excluded in conventional worship. The final message of the book is that women are creating a feminist spirituality to make up for the lack of a place for us in more conventional congregations, and that this is not only possible but healthy and liberating. Overall, inspiring.

This is a wonderful piece of research that reveals the thoughts of a silenced body of women who sit in the pews at church on Sunday for all sorts of reasons and quietly believe little of what is coming from the pulpit