From Feminist Theologian to Thealogian: The Life and Work of Carol P. Christ

Abstract

In this article I shall be looking at the life and work of Carol P. Christ, ‘…pioneer and founding mother of the Goddess, women's spirituality, and feminist theology movements…’ charting her development from a student of theology, through feminist theology and into full-blown Goddess studies, or thealogy. ¹I shall then focus on her continuing efforts to establish thealogy as a legitimate area for academic discourse. Although women's experiences are a legitimate source of theological reflection in feminist theology, Christ controversially draws on personal experience as material for her work on the sacred, which has opened her to criticism. However, there are voices that support thealogy as being both informative and transformative and rightfully belonging within the academic canon. I shall draw, in particular, upon the Introductions and Forewords of her books, as they contain much biographical information, knowledge of which is essential to an understanding of Christ's work.