“Faithfully Feminist: Bridging the Gap Between Feminism and Religion”
by Molly Prior and Taylor Oslacky
One of the big internal conflicts that many women face today is how feminist concepts collide with many religious beliefs. Women who are religious often struggle with identifying as a feminist, but still staying true to the faith that they’ve always been apart of. Here at Manhattan College’s campus, the community strives to be inclusive while still remaining true to its Lasallian Catholic roots. This inspired a new group on campus, called “Faithfully Feminist,” that will explore feminist concepts and mix them with religious values.
The Faithfully Feminist group was started by Dr. Natalia Imperatori-Lee, a professor of religious studies here at Manhattan College. She also teaches classes that are apart of the women and gender studies program. The group is apart of the Lasallian Women and Gender Resource Center, a new addition to Manhattan College in 2019. The center puts on various programs that encourage a safe space for women and minorities, as well as encourage discussion and dialogue on sensitive topics.
Lee was inspired to start the group after writing a book over the summer titled Faithfully Feminist.
“The book is a collection of essays that were inspired by a series of men and women who identified as feminists, but felt as though it was a struggle to combine this with their faith,” Lee explained. “I thought that if there were everyday people that were feeling this way, then there must be a place for a group like this on a campus that’s historically religious.”
The first meeting of the group took place on Thursday, September 12th, 2019 in the Lasallian Women and Gender Resource Center in Kelly Commons. Around 20 female students were in attendance. The students ranged in all ages, from freshmen to seniors, even some graduate students. Additionally, there were different faith backgrounds, including Catholic, Protestant, Muslim and even non religious students. The group began at 7 pm, with professor Lee introducing herself and explaining the purpose of the group.
“In terms of my own background, I’m Roman Catholic,” Lee said. “I have also struggled with Catholicism and feminism and how to integrate those into productive ways.”
Lee also then went on to explain how she wanted the group to be different from other groups on campus, particularly to other religious or service groups. She talked about how she wanted it to be inclusive, and a social atmosphere for students of different backgrounds to come together and share their experiences.
“We want this to be a safe space,” Lee said. “We also want to hear what ideas the students have. We want this to be an authentic and student run group. Additionally, we want to address topics that may be considered taboo at Manhattan College, such as birth control and contraceptives.”
The goal of the group and the Lasallian Women and Gender Resource Center as a whole is to be a “campus living room”, according to Lee, meaning they want everyone to feel as though they are welcome, no matter their gender, sexual identification, or religious beliefs. She additionally introduced her graduate student assistant, Jo-Ann Mullooly. She is studying to be a therapist who has a particular interest in how students experience their faith and where they stand in their journey of spirituality. Mullooly works in the center with students who struggle with issues of all sorts that they face.
After the introduction, all the students in attendance went around and introduced themselves. Everyone had their personal reasons for being there, but came together for the one reason; to explore their connection with God to their feminist beliefs.
“I came to this group because I used to have a very strong relationship with the church and my faith,” said senior August Kissel, who is also a resident assistant here at Manhattan College. “However, there were a lot of things that happened to myself and to people that I am close to in the past few years that made me really lose my faith.”
Another student, Rose Brennan, talked about how she lost faith after seeing certain things that happened in the world.
“I was raised by probably two of the most secular people in the world,” Brennan said. “ I’m from Connecticut and the school I went to was twenty minutes away from Sandy Hook Elementary. So there was a period of time where I was questioning how could any kind of God let this happen?”
Other students became comfortable to share their struggles with spirituality. What people’s families believed played a big influence in what and how individuals chose to carry out their beliefs. Jess Solan, a junior, was in attendance of the meeting and shared her questioning of the church.
“I don’t really feel connected to what I believe in when I’m in church,” Solan said. “I feel more connected to what I believe in when I’m in nature at a really beautiful spot. That’s when I feel most connected to the world and God and happiness.”
Since the club is just starting up, the objective of the club is still in the works. During the first meeting, Dr. Imperatori-Lee asked the group what they wanted to do besides their discussions. They talked about doing bake sales, reading books together and participating in Take Back the Night, which is an event that promotes sexual assault awareness and prevention on campus.
Faithfully Feminist hopes to continue to give students a platform to express their struggles with feminism in institutionalized religions. The club also hopes to assist with their daily conflicts involving feminism, sexuality and spirituality. The group will strive to meet once a month and is open to anyone, of any denomination, who wants to join.
