Contraception Furor v. Catholic Realities

Catholic voters will have a chance to express their commitment to women at the ballot box.

Bishop Minerva Carcaño Has a Nearly Impossible Job

Progressive bishops in denominations that have strong conservative wings have a nearly impossible job.

Feminist Studies in Religion as Bread and Butter

by Mary E. Hunt Feminist studies in religion are a hot commodity in the current political turmoil. So-called women’s issues are front and center in the debates. The long settled question of contraception has been snatched from mothballs for conservatives’ purposes. But there is such a dearth of feminist religious voices, so little room in masculinist journalist and clerical discussions to get a word in edgewise, that almost anything we add to the conversation is useful. Whoever expected that our training would be so valuable?

Progressive Religion to the Rescue

By Mary E. Hunt The happy hoopla surrounding the lifting of Don't Ask, Don't Tell had a shadow side. Close inspection revealed a lot of partners and spouses of LGBTIQ military people who had been cloaked in secrecy and euphemism ("Meet my cousin") for years. Now they, too, can come out. But they remain second-class citizens whose marriages don't count because of the Defense of Marriage Act.

Women and Children First

By Mary E. Hunt Human trafficking is a mega-billion dollar global industry unregulated by any country or international body. It is a criminal activity ignored and/or tolerated with devastating consequences for the person involved, most of whom are women and children. Trafficking ranks just behind drug and arms trading as the most lucrative forms of commerce. Religiously informed social justice groups need to add this unspeakable activity to our agendas and bring the resources of our religious traditions to the task of eradicating it. I only wonder why it has taken some of us this long to focus our attention on an all too common phenomenon.