Carol P. Christ

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 thealogy 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 religious views as "immanental inclusive monotheism and panentheism". She distinguished herself from her collaborator Judith Plaskow in that she did not view the Goddess as all-powerful. == "Why Women Need the Goddess" ==

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 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. The essay also talks about other important figures in history to support the idea of needing a female representation of Goddesses like Philosopher Simone de Beauvoir, as she said "Man enjoys the great advantage of having a god endorse the code he write; and since man exercises a sovereign authority over women it is especially fortunate that this authority has been vested in him by the supreme being." == Significance ==

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 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. • She Who Changes (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003) • Rebirth of the Goddess (Routledge, 1998) • Odyssey with the Goddess (Continuum, 1995) • Weaving the Visions (coeditor with Judith Plaskow, 1989) • Laughter of Aphrodite (Harper, 1987) • Diving Deep and Surfacing (Beacon, 1980/1986/1995) • Womanspirit Rising (coeditor with Judith Plaskow) (Harper & Row, 1979, 1989) == Essays ==

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 American Academy of Religion for her service to the organization, and her elevation of the Goddess movement. ==See also==