DAUGHTERS IN THE CHURCH BECOMING MOTHERS OF THE CHURCH: A STUDY OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC WOMEN'S MOVEMENT (PRIESTHOOD, RELIGION).
Item
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Title
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DAUGHTERS IN THE CHURCH BECOMING MOTHERS OF THE CHURCH: A STUDY OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC WOMEN'S MOVEMENT (PRIESTHOOD, RELIGION).
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Identifier
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AAI8611387
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identifier
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8611387
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Creator
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TREBBI, DIANA.
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Contributor
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Joseph Bensman
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Date
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1986
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, General
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Abstract
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This study concerns a social and religious movement internal to the Catholic Church which I call "the Catholic women's movement." The empirical portion of the study derives from a sample of 48 women members of three of the principal organizations of the movement; and 8 members of an organization which claims to represent the vast majority of United States Catholic women who are not movement members.;Official Church documents are studied which function to define women's roles in Church and in society along traditional lines. They also provide religious rationale for these definitions. The 48 movement members comprise either of two status groupings for women which exist in the Church: "religious" (nuns) and laywomen.;Relying on the sociology of religion of Max Weber, I attempt to trace the historical and social determinants of similarities and of differences between the two status groups of women. Mannheim's sociology of knowledge is brought to bear on locating the sources of thought underlying the worldview of the members of the three organizations sampled. I call this thought structure "religious feminism." I also investigate the sources of several related ideological modes of thought employed among movement leaders and members; i.e., liberation theology and feminist spirituality.;The empirical data present similar and contrasting views nuns and laywomen have of each other, and of key movement issues such as wages and work opportunities, birth control, abortion, divorce, and ordination for women. Similarities and differences between the two status groups of women studied are taken as indicators of strengths and weaknesses in the movement as a whole.;I also explore how movement women experience a sense of power in various social and religious contexts. Catholic feminists are beginning to wield this power to attain their goals, as evidenced in the interviews.;Lack of strong interest in ordination among the sample indicates a movement whose nature is "prophetic" rather than "priestly." Predominantly religious justifications employed for the various movement goals suggest that the Catholic women's movement is not a secularizing force; rather, its divided loyalties seem directly associated with religious beliefs.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Sociology
