By Oluwatomisin “Tomi” Oredein. “It is a form of struggle and survival, an epistemic existence-based response and practice—most especially by colonial and racialized subjects—against the colonial matrix of power in all of its dimensions, and for the possibilities of an otherwise.” – cultural theorist Catherine Walsh on decoloniality 1 Decolonization Decolonization—the active and actual commitment to practicing decoloniality on a large, systematic scale—is also an active hope, a practice of ontological belief.  It acts on the assertion that those once colonized deserve to live in the worl ..read more

By Alejandro Escalante. A loca with a broom over her shoulder. Source: Lowell Fiet/Digital Library of the Caribbean. A loca (“madwoman”) named Willian danced and sang boisterously as she swept the ground and lead the procession of sacred images of Santiago Apóstol in Loíza, Puerto Rico. As she swept, she blew kisses and twerked provocatively with festivalgoers, enticing some and vexing others. Willian was a “loca,” a festival personage that Loiceños take on during Las Fiestas Tradicionales en Honor a Santiago Apóstol, the yearly festal celebration held in honor of St. James. Called locas for t ..read more

By Meghan R. Henning. In her 2010 Ted talk, Brené Brown talked about how she returned to the church amidst a period of turmoil as an academic and how she found a progressive faith that was different from what she expected. A quote from that talk has resurfaced periodically in interviews, on her own Twitter account, and recently as a meme: “I went back to church thinking that it would be like an epidural, like it would take the pain away… that church would make the pain go away. Faith and church was not an epidural for me at all; it was like a midwife who just stood next to me saying, ‘Push. It ..read more

By Midori Hartman. I write this reflection having recently returned from participating in the International Society of Biblical Literature meeting in Salzburg, Austria (July 16th – 21st). After two years of virtual conferences, it was quite a wonderful experience to meet with others in person again, especially engaging with other feminists in events sponsored by the SBL Women in the Profession committee. Yet this conference was also an important moment for me to think about the threshold upon which we find ourselves concerning future directions of the professional academic conference. For us f ..read more

by Sharon Jacob. “When a Hindu man marries a Muslim woman, it is always portrayed as romance and love by Hindu organizations, while when the reverse happens it is depicted as coercion.” Charu Gupta, Historian at University of Delhi Genesis 34 is the story of Dinah and the Shechemites. The most common interpretations of Genesis 34 contend that Shechem assaulted, abducted, and/or coerced Dinah into a sexual relationship. In response, Dinah’s brothers kill all of the men in Shechem’s community. While such interpretations are pertinent and highlight important factors around sexual violence, conse ..read more

Interview by Michal Raucher and Sharon Jacob. The FSR Blog has benefitted from brilliant and dedicated student interns who served as submissions editor. As Jennifer Maidrand wraps up her role as a student intern, she is moving over to the FSR board with our deep appreciation. We (co-chairs Michal Raucher and Sharon Jacob) received so many wonderful applicants for the new submissions editor position, and Kimi Bryson stood out among the rest. We wanted to introduce her to the rest of the FSR community. We are sure that through this interview you’ll see what we saw in Kimi when we hired her. We a ..read more

By Andrea Corso Johnson. The Magnificat is the first of four “hymns” in Luke’s Gospel.1  Although located in the New Testament, the Magnificat is closely connected to the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament). Its structure and thematic expression are similar to Hannah’s song (I Sam. 2:1-10).2 It also bears similarity to the Hebrew Bible theme, the hymns of the anawim (poor ones).3 Mary’s Magnificat is the debut expression of the Gospel of Luke’s literary theme of divine reversal, which focuses on money, power, and authority.4 The Magnificat centers the experience of a poor, pregnant, unmarried ..read more

By Sharon Jacob and Leonard McMahon. The current hostility among representatives on both sides of the aisle sheds important light on the relationship between respectability politics and speech. It is sadly yet another experiment where people of color (POC), who historically have relied on their voices to communicate grievance, can test whether the right words can truly effect change. The term ‘politics of respectability’ was coined by Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham in her book Righteous Discontent: The Women’s Movement in Black Baptist Church, 1880-1920. Respectability politics, as it has come to ..read more

Feminist Studies in Religion (FSR) is looking to fill the role of Submissions Editor for the FSR BLOG. This position will begin on July 1, 2022. The Submissions Editor position is a paid internship with a $13,500 stipend to be paid semiannually. This position comes with no health or retirement benefits.  This job is best suited for a graduate student with interest in Religion and/or Womens, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Experience with website management and/or WordPress is welcome, but not necessary. This position requires an average of 10 hours of remote work per week. The FSR BLOG is ..read more

By Miriam Eve Mora. The Internet has been rejoicing in “Zelenskyy the Hottie,” praising his role as a leader ready to heroically sacrifice himself for his nation, and creating around him a following of American superfans. As we applaud him from afar, focusing on his image, we are, unfortunately, also relieving ourselves of some responsibility, letting ourselves off the hook as responsible world citizens who should not accept his role as a lone stoic David facing down the Russian Goliath. In turning his American supporters into fans, we fictionalize and dramatize Zelenskyy the man (to a degree ..read more