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creature. Women are menstruants, birthgivers and women's connection to their bodies is related to the nature and the world around us. Menstruating women have been viewed differently for a long period of time and the taboo with this issue is also quite generalized. It was often seen as an issue with a woman's bodily functions and many women were also forbidden to enter holy sacred places of different religions due to seeing menstruation as a negative means of a woman's body. Christ has also spoken of how a
Goddess is also a representation to a birthgiver which is where women are privileged and it's a life-giving power that women carry. Since Goddess is seen as a creator of the universe and of life, Carol's idea of women as birth-giver automatically aids the idea of women's capacity of creating a new life and bringing into life as an act of Goddess. Then, the female will is also important to acknowledge and value, even being in patriarchal society. A woman needs to understand that her opinions are valid and that she does not need to devalue herself while trying to please others due to being in a patriarchal society as well. Lastly, the importance of women's bond and heritage because that is also often controlled by the men as the dominant source. Christ says that "The celebration of women's bonds to each other, as mother and daughters, as colleagues and co-worker, as sisters, friends, and lovers, is beginning to occur in the new literature and culture created by women in the women's movement" meaning that women empowering each other and making a move for better living standards is only possible when one woman starts supporting another. A mother-daughter bond is known to be a special bond because the mother being the creator of her child, already symbolized herself as a Goddess of birth-giving. Simone de Beauvoir has also mentioned that "The mother daughter relation is distorted in patriarchy because the mother must give her daughter over to men in a male-defined culture which women are viewed as inferior".
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aspects of human being work. Religion that created a male representation of God aids the societal power of a man as well as in the political side as they are automatically given the privilege. Christ specifically mentioned in her essay that "religion centered on the worship of a male God create "moods" and "motivations" that keep women in the state of psychological dependence on men and male authority," which gives a solidified explanation as to how influential a Male given God's representation affects the moods as well as motivation of why women and their privileges are the way they are. There are many restrictions a woman has to follow and go through in
Christianity, Judaism, and other religions because of the way these religions have structured the hierarchy (with men in control of everything and women being under them). Because of how religion is controlled by men, feminists did not want to leave it as it is and make amendments so that women are valued as well.
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questioning religion, it is solely based on the authoritarian justice and worship of male figures which is demeaning to women. Christ has written another follow up of "Why Women Need a
Goddess" to "Why Women, Men, and Other Living Things Still Need the Goddess". It argues that even still today, everyone needs a Goddess figure to control the power of hierarchy and patriarchy. Christ has written six books in her areas of Feminism study and the following are mentioned.
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According to Christ, the simplest and basic idea behind woman
Goddess "is the acknowledgement of the legitimacy of female power as a beneficent and independent power" meaning that female power should be invested in a way that they are superior to themselves and have independent power to themselves as
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in the U.S. and other countries. It discusses the importance of religious symbols in general, and the effects of male symbolism of God on women in particular. Christ called herself a "thealogian" and as such, made important contributions to the discipline of theology, significantly helping to create
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Since her essay has been influential to many women in terms of opening the possibilities to understanding how religion has a great impact on our lives. Christ also talks about how
Religion that is focused solely on the male dominance representation of God impacts how the political and psychological
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also says that the symbol of goddess to her means it depends on how a woman feels and more so "When I feel weak, she is someone who can help and protect me. When I feel strong, she is the symbol of my own power". Another aspect related to the female body is that Christ portrays women as a unique
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to her is the idea of religious symbols having influence on human beings but also the understanding of ethical decision making. It is having the consciousness rising process where women fit together. She has taken her approach imagining the
Goddess in a patriarchal tradition. She defined her own
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According to scholarly source, Carol believed that "it is necessary to take the risk of writing personally because in that way we remain true to what we know at the deepest levels of our being and to the insights with which we create feminist theology". Christ's ideology is not neglecting or
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and
Harvard Divinity School. Her best-known publication is "Why Women Need The Goddess". It was initially a keynote presentation at the "Great Goddess Re-emerging" conference" at the University of Santa Cruz in 1978. This essay helped to launch the
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Christ's death from cancer was announced by the
Association for Study of Women and Mythology on July 14, 2021. An obituary honouring her contributions to Feminist Thealogy may be found on "The Girl God" blog. She was remembered by the
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Carol discussed four aspects of
Goddess symbolism that are important to discuss in order to understand her step towards needing a Goddess in Women's lives to minimise the male representation of God. She talked about
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well and sustaining the power by themselves so that she will no longer be dependent on men or male figures as saviors to situations. Feminist
Priestess
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The first conference of Women Thealogians took place in 1971 at Alverno College in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. According to Christ, the meaning of
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The essay also talks about other important figures in history to support the idea of needing a female representation of Goddesses like Philosopher
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Christ, Carol (2012). "Why Women, Men, and other Living Things Still Need The Goddess: Remembering and Reflecting 35 Years Later".
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a space for it to be far more inclusive of women than has historically been the case. The term "thealogy" is derived from
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Da Costa, Jacqueline (2006). "From Feminist Theologian to Thealogian: The life and Work of Carol P. Christ".
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for her service to the organization, and her elevation of the Goddess movement.
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188:. Carol P. Christ taught at major universities in the United States, including
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Transforming the Faiths of Our Fathers: Women Who Changed American Religion
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505:"In Memoriam: A Collective Tribute to Carol Patrice Christ 1945-2021"
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403:. Vol. 1. Heusenstamm, Germany: Ontos Verlag. pp. 87β98.
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628:"Goddess Tours Greece-Sacred Sites Tour-Goddess Pilgrimage Crete"
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418:—— (2004). "Carol P. Christ". In Braude, Ann (ed.).
216:. For many years she had been a resident of the Greek island of
121:(December 20, 1945 β July 14, 2021) was a feminist historian,
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954:. American Academy of Religion. 16 July 2021. Archived from
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Ursic, Elizabeth (2017). "Interview With Carol P. Christ".
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Weaving the Visions: New Patterns in Feminist Spirituality"
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Weaving the Visions: New Patterns in Feminist Spirituality
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Carol P. Christ's author page on Feminism and Religion
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in that she did not view the Goddess as all-powerful.
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Heresies: A Feminist Publication on Art and Politics
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667:"The Courage to Create Peace - by Carol P. Christ"
133:and served as a professor at universities such as
642:"report of meeting on Gulf of Kallonis proposals"
172:and was a co-editor of two classic anthologies: "
888:"Association for Study of Women and Mythology"
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180:(1979/1989). The latter included her essay
277:the Goddess as affirmation of female power
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918:"Obituary of Carol P. Christ (1945-2021"
401:Handbook of Whiteheadian Process Thought
206:California Institute of Integral Studies
854:Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion
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422:. St. Martin's Press. pp. 97β113.
164:Christ wrote five influential books on
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644:. Greenlesbos.com. Archived from
503:Alvizo, Xochitl (15 July 2021).
375:Christ, Carol P. (Spring 1978).
125:, author, and foremother of the
1016:Harvard Divinity School faculty
390:(1). Heresies Collective: 8β13.
948:"In Memoriam: Carol P. Christ"
924:. 16 July 2021. Archived from
756:Thurman, Judith (2010-05-27).
699:. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc
581:. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc
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866:10.2979/jfemistudreli.33.1.12
602:"Why Women Need the Goddess"
445:American Academy of Religion
377:"Why Women Need the Goddess"
257:"Why Women Need the Goddess"
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129:. She obtained her PhD from
16:American scholar (1945β2021)
1011:Columbia University faculty
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182:Why Women Need the Goddess
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1001:Feminist studies scholars
981:Carol P. Christ's website
721:Christ, Carol P. (2019).
348:Diving Deep and Surfacing
286:women's bond and heritage
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831:10.1177/0966735012436897
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549:"Why Women Need Goddess"
399:; Desmond, Will (eds.).
350:(Beacon, 1980/1986/1995)
326:Odyssey with the Goddess
212:containing artifacts of
220:, the home of the poet
194:Harvard Divinity School
1031:Pomona College faculty
1006:Yale University alumni
320:Rebirth of the Goddess
693:"Thealogy-Definition"
575:"Thealogy-Definition"
509:Feminism and Religion
342:Laughter of Aphrodite
99:Tradition or movement
237:religious views as "
214:matriarchal religion
166:women's spirituality
119:Carol Patrice Christ
23:Carol Patrice Christ
648:on December 1, 2008
332:Weaving the Visions
190:Columbia University
178:Womanspirit Rising"
135:Columbia University
762:The New York Times
723:"Thealogy Matters"
673:on August 27, 2008
354:Womanspirit Rising
314:Palgrave Macmillan
267:Simone de Beauvoir
85:Womanspirit Rising
819:Feminist Theology
784:Feminist Theology
728:Feminist Theology
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328:(Continuum, 1995)
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860:: 137β152.
612:12 December
247:panentheism
87:(1979/1989)
56:Nationality
995:Categories
767:8 December
703:8 December
652:2017-10-28
585:8 December
559:8 December
473:References
243:monotheism
241:inclusive
239:immanental
204:, and the
123:thealogian
35:1945-12-20
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804:220472933
64:Education
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451:See also
293:Starhawk
234:thealogy
103:thealogy
83:(1989);
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338:, 1989)
316:, 2003)
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369:Essays
222:Sappho
218:Lesbos
210:Greece
160:-logy.
870:S2CID
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608:. Wix
555:. Wix
438:Death
380:(PDF)
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405:ISBN
245:and
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