INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter free, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely afreet reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each orignal is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Ifigher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. t: UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 WOMOON RISING: FEMINIST SPIRITUALITY AND ITS IMPACT ON THE MODERN WOMEN'S MOVEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Cynthia L. Wilkey, B.A., M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1997 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Leila Rupp, Adviser Professor Susan Hartmann P Adviser Professor Steven Conn Department of History UMI Number: 9813371 Copyright 1997 by Wilkey, Cynthia L. All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9813371 Copyright 1998, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 A Copyright by Cynthia Louise Wilkey 1997 ABSTRACT Feminist spirituality, an outgrowth of the modern American women's movement, addressed the spiritual needs of many women. When the women's movement first expanded its critique of modem society to include those institutions that justified and perpetuated patriarchy, religious institutions became a target of feminist attack. Nineteenth-century feminists had raised similar criticisms, but in the twentieth-century, by the late 1960s, many women moved beyond critiquing traditional religion to creating institutions that empowered and validated women's experiences. Drawing upon the ancient past and looking to any tradition that included Goddesses or female religious leaders, the feminist spirituality movement borrowed heavily from many cultures and found an ally in the modem NeoPagan movement. Not all feminists, especially radical feminists with left-wing roots, saw this development as an acceptable use ii of feminist energy, so the emergence of feminist spirituality immediately created a wave of controversy within the women's movement which was related to the larger debate over the emergence of cultural feminism. Despite generating some valid criticisms from within the women's movement and elsewhere, feminist spirituality overall has had a positive effect on the women's movement. It has provided a spiritual outlet that many women find empowering, and rather than draining the women's movement of energy, it actually led many women into political activism. This was particularly true of younger women entering the women's movement in the 1990s. Feminist spirituality, furthermore, played an important role in helping the women's movement expand its definition of a feminist issue. Although opponents accused feminist spirituality of being "apolitical," it had a political dimension that found expression in the ecofeminist movement where women drew a parallel between the treatment of women and the treatment of the earth. Similar arguments emphasizing the interconnectedness of all life led spiritual feminists to embrace such topics as anti-militarism and animal rights. iii Despite fears that these activities threatened the central concern of feminism--improving women's status--by the 1990s feminist spirituality was present at most feminist gatherings. Feminist spirituality weathered assaults from external foes and also survived many internal disagreements to emerge as a dynamic new element in modern feminism. IV Dedicated to Mary Lou Wilkey, my mother V ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation has greatly benefited from the invaluable assistance of many others. Topping the list, however, was my dissertation director Leila Rupp. Throughout my career as a graduate student she has been never failing in her support and encouragement of my efforts. She has provided insightful and encouraging comments throughout this project, and her faith in me never wavered, even when my faith in myself did. She is a true mentor and I am indebted to her for all she has done. I would also like to thank the other members of my dissertation committee, Susan Hartmann and Steven Conn, for their helpful comments and suggestions. My dear friends Greta Bucher and Virginia Boynton provided invaluable advice and encouragement, and without their support, and outstanding examples, I doubt that this project would have ever been completed. VI Equally crucial was the assistance of the Columbus Pagan community and the many women who so generously shared a part of themselves with me and my research. They made this work possible, and for their openness and trust I am eternally grateful. I would also like to thank the staff of the Ohio Historical Society and of the microfilm reading room at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The assistance I received at both locations was always friendly and ever helpful. I owe an enormous debt to my husband, Matt Oyos. In the final phases of this project he has read countless drafts, prepared many meals, solved numerous computer crises, and always offered loving encouragement and excellent suggestions. His faith in me remained steadfast, and for his love and support I give thanks daily. Finally, for teaching me never to doubt my abilities, for providing unconditional love and support, for being wise and strong, and for encouraging me to be myself, I thank my mother, Mary Lou Wilkey. To my mother, and to She who is mother of us all, I dedicate this dissertation. V I 1 VITA July 22, 1962 ............................ Born - Dayton, Ohio 1987 ............................... B.A., Oakland University 1990 ...........................M.A. , The Ohio State University 1988 - 1993 ............... Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field; History Studies in: American and European Women's History Modern American History Modern European History V l l l TABLE OF CONTENTS £age Abstract.................................................. ii Dedication................................................ v Acknowledgments......................................... vi V i t a ....................................................... viii Introduction ............................................ 1 Chapters 1. Religion and Feminism: A Relationship Gone Bad ........................... 21 2. The Goddess Awakened: The Birth of a New Movement....................... 58 3. Self-indulgence & Escapism?: Feminist Spirituality Generates a Wave of C r i t i c s .......................................... 100 4. Creating a New Paradigm: Feminist Spirituality and Feminist Politics. 140 5. Pricks, Priestesses, & Prejudices: Internal Divisions within the Feminist Spirituality Movement ........................... 178 Conclusion...................................................225 Bibliography ............................................. 235 ix INTRODUCTION "A woman's asking for equality in the church would be comparable to a black person's demanding equality in the Ku Klux Klan."i This statement, penned in 1975 by Mary Daly, one of the luminaries of the feminist spirituality movement, encapsulates the feelings of thousands of American feminists who have come together since the 1970s to found a new religion based upon the spiritual needs, experiences, and power of women. Rejecting traditional Judeo-Christian doctrines, liturgies, and theologies as being inherently sexist--with a male god, male clergy, male saviors, and male church and synagogue leaders--the proponents of feminist spirituality sought to find, or create, female connection to the Divine. ^ Mary Daly, The Church and the Second Sex (Boston.- Beacon Press, 1968), 6; other works by Daly include: Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women's Liberation (Boston: Beacon Press, 1973), Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism (Boston: Beacon Press, 1978) ,- Webster's First New Intergalactic Wickedairy of the English Language (Boston: Beacon Press, 1987). Most became Goddess worshipers, revering a Goddess whose very essence was indefinable since she was different for each woman.^ Some saw her as a transcendent deity, or multitude of deities--"the Goddess of the Ten Thousand Names"-- but to other women the Goddess was immanent, or alive, in every living being and thing,- to most, she was a little of both.3 No matter