Recently, on campus at Manhattan College, they have started a new group called “Faithfully Feminist” sponsored by the Lasallian Women and Gender Resource Center.The group strives to focus on women who are historically religious, but feel conflicted because they identify as feminists but don’t agree with all of the things they’ve been taught in church. This is a valid concern for women and people who identify with the LGBQT community in today’s society.
For me personally, I have never been super religious. Since my family is from Scotland, we identify as Protestant, but I never went to church a lot. I consider myself to be a spiritual person and believe in God. Protestant is a much more laid back religion though, then say, Catholic. I have a lot of friends at school who identify as Cathlolic, because Manhattan College is historically Catholic.
They wanted to go to this group because they were struggling. They can’t identify or support many of the Catholic Church’s beliefs such as being anti abortion, anti birth control, or just anti women’s rights and LGBQT rights in general. They want to be able to trust God and have a great relationship with God while still holding views that they know is right in today’s society.
Groups like “Faithfully Feminist” are a step in the right direction for people who are feeling this way. I believe that you can still have this relationship with religion and your personal beliefs. I think that in the end, God is going to love us all and recognizes that everyone is different.
“Faithfully Feminist” meets montly in the Lasallian Women and Gender Resource Center. For more information, you can visit the center’s instagram @mc_lwgrc, or contact the group’s moderator, Dr. Natalia Imperatori-Lee by email at natalia.lee@manhattan.edu.