Berkley Center

The topic of “women and religion” is increasingly in the public eye. In the United States and around the world, questions around women’s roles and women’s equality within faith communities and links to core religious beliefs and practices are hotly contested—in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and other traditions. These controversies are never merely theological—they involve clashing social and cultural perspectives on gender, as well as material power and interests. And they cannot be reduced to a simple opposition between traditionalists and progressives. 

In order to navigate this complexity, and foster respectful and constructive debate on contentious and important issues, the Berkley Center is partnering with Elizabeth Tenety, former Washington Post religion editor and Georgetown alumnus, to launch a web-based conversation on women, religion, and the family.  

Through web-based reporting, research, and commentary, this series will explore women’s religious participation and leadership as they relate to issues of family, sexuality, economic and social development, and power—in the United States and around the world. It will feature articles, commentary, and discussion among thought leaders, journalists, and members of the Georgetown community and beyond.  

This online conversation will build on a range of Berkley Center work on women and religion over the past several years, including work on Religion, Gender and Peacebuilding and on the Women, Religion, and the Family project. 

Check back here at the Berkley Forum site frequently for new posts. This month the topic will be contrasting understandings of marriage, an issue explored in depth at the recent Synod in Rome.