The Politics of Women's Spirituality: Essays by Founding Mothers of the Movement [Paperback]

Charlene Spretnak (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Rather than codifying a religion exclusively for women, the authors address a range of contemporary issues that are informed by spirituality, our attitudes toward life on Earth. The values and perceptions presented in this essay collection constitute a holistic paradigm, a dynamic model for the postpatriarchal era.

Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Anchor; First Edition edition (December 15, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385172419
• ISBN-13: 978-0385172417
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.2 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #415,601 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charlene Spretnak is the author of several books on ecological and relational thought, cultural history, spirituality and religion, feminism, the problems of modernity, and contemporary events. These include GREEN POLITICS: The Global Promise (principle coauthor); THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSION OF GREEN POLITICS; STATES OF GRACE: The Recovery of Meaning in the Postmodern Age; THE RESURGENCE OF THE REAL: Body, Nature, and Place in a Hypermodern World; and RELATIONAL REALITY. She is also author of MISSING MARY and LOST GODDESSES OF EARLY GREECE, as well as editor of an anthology, THE POLITICS OF WOMEN'S SPIRITUALITY. She is currently working on a book on the spiritual dimensions of modern and contemporary art. She was one of the initial theorists of the women's spirituality movement in the 1970s and was a co-founder of the Green Party movement in the United States in the 1980s. In 2006 she was named by the Environment Department of the British government one of the "100 Eco-Heroes of All Time." She was raised in Ohio and now resides in Ojai, California, with her husband, where she enjoys gardening and walks through the nature preserves. For further information about her books, see www.CharleneSpretnak.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!, December 3, 2002

By 

Kathryn Doherty (Co Donegal Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Politics of Women's Spirituality: Essays by Founding Mothers of the Movement (Paperback)

This is a comprehensive, accessible collection of articles on a range of aspects of women's spirituality. I have had it for years, keep dipping back into it regularly for inspiration and stimulation. It is a fabulous book.

5.0 out of 5 stars For women everywhere., December 17, 2011

By 

Maureen L. Thomas (Tampa Bay area of Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Politics of Women's Spirituality: Essays by Founding Mothers of the Movement (Paperback)

This book gives an in depth look at real women's spirituality and its very early beginnings. It gives one an understanding of where we lost our spirituality and how to gain it back. This is a must read for every woman who feels like something is missing as this book will help send you in the right direction to gain it back.

5.0 out of 5 stars A MARVELOUS, INDISPENSABLE COLLECTION OF WRITINGS, July 27, 2011

By 

Steven H. Propp (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Politics of Women's Spirituality: Essays by Founding Mothers of the Movement (Paperback)

Charlene Spretnak (born 1946) is an author, activist, academic and feminist who teaches in the philosophy and religion department at the California Institute of Integral Studies. She was a co-founder of the Green Party in the United States, and is also the author of Relational Reality: New Discoveries of Interrelatedness That Are Transforming the Modern World, The Resurgence of the Real, Missing Mary: The Queen of Heaven and Her Re-Emergence in the Modern Church, etc., and primary author of GREEN POLITICS.

She wrote in the Introduction to the first (1982) edition of this book, "All of the pieces in this anthology are active rather than reactive, revolutionary rather than reformist, and express broad political awareness... The title 'The Politics of Women's Spirituality' refers to our attitude toward life on Earth (i.e., spirituality) and the perception, manifestation, and use of power (i.e., politics) that stem from that attitude."

Here are some quotations from the book:

"The centrality of IMMANENCE in feminist spirituality---that is, the recognition of the divine in all life forms---involves a rejection of the centrality in traditional Western religion of (male) transcendence of body and nature as the optimal spiritual path." (Pg. xiv)
"Goddess religion is unimaginably old, but contemporary Witchcraft could just as accurately be called the New Religion." (Pg. 50)
"The Goddess gives birth to a pantheon that is inclusive rather than exclusive; She is not 'a jealous God.'" (Pg. 179)
"...the re-sourcement is a movement of women, and that means that it has a strong and unashamed lesbian component." (Pg. 203)
"Of course, it is impossible to give definitive proof about the practice and beliefs of Witches who lived many years prior to the twentieth century. It is even impossible to decide whether or not the millions of so-called 'witches' who were brutally massacred in the Middle Ages at the urging of Christian clergymen were Witches at all." (Pg. 214)
"Without the politically motivated prohibitions against homosexuality enforced by partiarchal brotherhood, sisterhood must be firmly understood to include a sexual relationship, providing the emotional-spiritual ties and life-supporting strength of the sex bond." (Pg. 515)