Motherhood As Metaphor Engendering Interreligious Dialogue
Book Description
In a world where religious boundaries increasingly intersect, Jeannine Hill Fletcher presents a groundbreaking approach to interfaith understanding by centering women's lived experiences rather than traditional theological texts. This thoughtful exploration challenges conventional frameworks of religious dialogue by asking a fundamental question: what transforms when women's voices become the primary lens for examining faith encounters?
Fletcher draws from three distinct historical moments to illuminate this inquiry. She examines the archives of Maryknoll Sisters serving in China before World War II, explores the global feminist movement's interfaith dimensions, and studies a contemporary dialogue group in Philadelphia. Through letters, diaries, speeches, and personal interviews, these women's stories reveal the "relational, dynamic messiness" of sacred human experience that often goes unrecorded in formal religious discourse.
The metaphor of motherhood weaves through these investigations, offering fresh perspectives on what it means to be human across religious traditions. Rather than focusing solely on doctrinal differences, this work uncovers how women navigate interfaith relationships through embodied experience, care, and connection.
Fletcher's methodology creates what she terms "comparative theology" grounded in believers' actual experiences rather than abstract theological concepts. The result is an interreligious theology that remains rooted in Christian tradition while genuinely learning from other faith paths, offering readers new ways to understand both their own spiritual journey and their connections with others across religious lines.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Medium (200-400 pages) (~7 hours)
📄 Length: 260 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore SOCIAL SCIENCE
- ✓ Explore Theology
- ✓ Explore Women
- ✓ Explore Religious aspects
- ✓ Explore Christian women
- ✓ Explore SOCIAL SCIENCE / Feminism & Feminist Theory
- ✓ Explore Sexuality & Gender Studies
- ✓ Explore Geschlechterrolle
