Thinking about what to read: Womanist, Mujerista, and Post-Colonial Feminist Theologies

Many students ask me about the difference between Feminist Theology and Womanist or Mujerista or Post-Colonial Feminist Theologies. Women are women, right? Why are there so many different labels? 

I think these are good questions, but they come from folks who often assume that their experience is the normative experience (but don't we all do this to some degree?). These other feminist theologies began when women of color and women from the two-thirds world questioned some of the assertions of Western White Feminist Theologians. These women spoke to some of the truth about being a Christian female in the world, but they missed a lot of the experience of poverty and oppression that comes from being on the margins of the dominant culture. 

These women are brave, bold, and profoundly Christian. They bare witness both to the injustice of society and to the work of God in their communities. They speak truth in prophetic ways, challenging us to re-think the gospel so that we might live out the narrative of Jesus Christ in new and expanding ways. 

One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from Ghanian Theologian, Mercy Amba Oduyoye:

“Women live in the knowledge that the tyranny of patriarchy is bound to end. Because biblical hope tells of a time without death and tears, because God is the God of life and Jesus has promised abundant life, the suffering of women cannot be the last word. There must be a resurrection in its wake—new life, love, peace and justice—a new creation, a new community, the household of God in which all things are made new.” (Mercy Amba Oduyoye, “Resurrection of the Body: An Eschatology,” in African Women’s Theology, OH: The Pilgrim Press, 2001, 119.)

Amen!