A Feminist Interreligious Intervention: Transforming the Abortion Debate into a Dialogue on Life
Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Emily Clark -- Clarke@gonzaga.edu
Session Type
Traditional Paper Presentation
Research Project Abstract
This thesis aims at turning the abortion debate into a dialogue that recognizes women’s voices, is grounded in humility, and has the possibility for mutual transformation. With this task, a feminist perspective applied to Cornille’s necessary conditions for interreligious dialogue are helpful. These include humility, commitment, interconnection, empathy, and hospitality with feminist ideas of hybrid identity and relationality. As non-Christians are usually considered “others” and share experiences of marginalization and exclusion from Roman Catholic knowledge systems and dialogues, I call for these interreligious dialogue conditions to become necessary in the abortion dialogue between the Church and women, who are frequently excluded from the conversation similarly to the religious other. I hope that applying these interreligious dialogical conditions will allow for a holier, richer understanding and application of the doctrine of the sanctity of life that aligns with Pope Francis’ vision of a culture of mercy and accompaniment.
Session Number
RS10
Location
Weyerhaeuser 203
Abstract Number
RS10-b
A Feminist Interreligious Intervention: Transforming the Abortion Debate into a Dialogue on Life
Weyerhaeuser 203
This thesis aims at turning the abortion debate into a dialogue that recognizes women’s voices, is grounded in humility, and has the possibility for mutual transformation. With this task, a feminist perspective applied to Cornille’s necessary conditions for interreligious dialogue are helpful. These include humility, commitment, interconnection, empathy, and hospitality with feminist ideas of hybrid identity and relationality. As non-Christians are usually considered “others” and share experiences of marginalization and exclusion from Roman Catholic knowledge systems and dialogues, I call for these interreligious dialogue conditions to become necessary in the abortion dialogue between the Church and women, who are frequently excluded from the conversation similarly to the religious other. I hope that applying these interreligious dialogical conditions will allow for a holier, richer understanding and application of the doctrine of the sanctity of life that aligns with Pope Francis’ vision of a culture of mercy and accompaniment.
