Feminist public theology is an ecumenical issue: The case of the NoToPope coalition

The study of feminist public theology is in its infancy. No general text on feminist public theology has yet been published. However, a number of authors both Catholic and Protestant have started to explore how feminist public theology might be conceived. Esther McIntosh acknowledges the “ambiguous” position offeminist theology and ethics in relation to mainstream theology and the need forpublic theology to address the equality of women and their roles within family,church and wider society. 2 Rosemary Radford Ruether has drawn attention to thesecular and multi-faith context in which feminist public theology is now conducted.In Western societies Christianity remains the dominant but not the only religion, and Christians may be involved in social advocacy coalitions with people of other faiths or none or those who have been influenced by a number of religious traditions. Radford Ruether argues that transnational interfaith and secular networks such as the United Nations will play an increasingly important role in challenging the Roman Catholic Church to modify its social teaching. 3 Rosemary Carbine, another Roman Catholic theologian, argues that all Christians are involved in public theology as “ekklesial work”. Against the criticism that much public theology is mere social comment, Carbine defines feminist public theology as a summary of theology that is expressed in symbolic, rhetorical and prophetic modes for the sake of the transformation of the whole of society.