Nevertheless, We Persist: A Feminist Public Theology

Overview

"Nevertheless, We Persist shows us how to create a new, fully feminist and fully public theology. It will be a foundational text in graduate and seminary courses on feminist theology, religious resistance, Catholic Social Teaching, and activist theology. Those of us who reject kyriarchy but hold out hope that faith traditions, including ecclesial faith traditions, can transform the world have found a method for transformation in this
book. From this point on, I will always be looking for the trinity that Carbine has taught me: the rhetorical, symbolic, and prophetic practices that are both currently and eschatologically constructing and revealing the kingdom of God. I am grateful for this new road forward for feminist public theology." - Terry Hawley Reeder, Religious Studies and Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies, The College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio, Critical Theology Magazine

“In Nevertheless, We Persist, Rosemary Carbine explores contemporary public theology from a feminist perspective. . . . This exploration of public witness is nourishment for Gospel living in challenging times.” –Simone Campbell, SSS, 2022 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient 

“Weaving together insights from Vatican II, feminist and womanist theologies of sacramentality, and a relational theological anthropology, Rosemary Carbine persuasively argues for enlarging the field of public theology. Her dramatic testimonies of ‘ekklesial work’ present the profound challenges on how to ‘remake the public’ while still sustaining hope in an increasingly complex world. Anyone who hungers for solidarity in our deeply fractured society will find both insightful encouragement and effective practical strategies that explain why ‘nevertheless, we persist!’” –Mary Ann Hinsdale, IHM, Boston College 

“By asking much needed and decisive theological questions, Rosemary Carbine lays the foundation for a feminist public theology, one grounded in rhetorical, symbolic, and prophetic practices.  This well-researched book is a must read for all who want to reimagine the ‘relationship between Christianity and US public life’ in a manner that takes seriously the pressing issues of our time.” –Nancy Pineda-Madrid, T. Marie Chilton Chair of Catholic Theology, Loyola Marymount University 

“Rosemary Carbine re-ignites hope for a radically inclusive society and church. . . . Carbine offers a richly sourced text that uses paired 20th and 21st century social movements to highlight the anthropology, Christology, and eschatology of the ekklesial work of wo/men that embody the rhetorical, symbolic, and prophetic practices of a public theology that prioritizes suffering people, critiques present injustice, and ‘edges toward’ a more just future.” –Elena G. Procario-Foley, Br. John G. Driscoll Professor of Jewish-Catholic Studies, Iona University 

Nevertheless, We Persist elaborates an innovative feminist theological approach to the public church and to the praxis of public theology as ekklesial work. Carbine constructs and then applies this approach to identify and interpret theological claims and practices of public engagement that have been exemplified by Christian social justice leaders and movements. She draws on major figures in feminist and womanist theologies to examine the rich diversity of historical and contemporary faith-based movements such as the Catholic Worker, the Civil Rights Movement, United Farm Workers, and The Plowshares Movement. Each chapter ends with a contemporary social movement that continues and radicalizes a part of an earlier movement with attention to multi-faith approaches that address increasing fractures of US public life in our time.

Cover design:  Ponie Sheehan 

Related Materials

Click Here For The Book Introduction

Click Here For The Table Of Contents