Great goddess, elemental nature or chora? Philosophical contentions and constructs in contemporary goddess feminism

Reid-Bowen, P (2007) 'Great goddess, elemental nature or chora? Philosophical contentions and constructs in contemporary goddess feminism.' Feminist Theology, 16 (1). pp. 101-109.

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0966735007082520

Abstract

This paper examines some of the metaphysical concepts that are present within Goddess feminism at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It is asserted from the outset that Goddess feminism is not as incoherent as many of its critics claim; and it is also highly problematic for feminist thealogians to view conceptual precision and philosophical analysis as inevitably masculinist and invidious preoccupations. Three contemporary feminist thealogical concepts of deity are introduced: the Goddess as a personal, loving and panentheistic deity, the Goddess as the impersonal, female and generative pantheistic body of nature, and the Goddess as a maternal space or receptacle of becoming. By reflecting on some of the different ways in which the Goddess may be understood to originate, organize and relate to the whole of nature, this paper identifies areas of coherence, contention and originality in Goddess feminism that are arguably in need of further philosophical study.

Item Type: Article
Note:

This article was originally presented as a paper at Women and the Divine Conference held at University of Liverpool and Liverpool Hope University College, 17th-19th June 2005.

Divisions: School of Writing, Publishing and the Humanities
Date Deposited: 18 Nov 2012 04:45
Last Modified: 15 Aug 2021 09:32
ISSN: 1745-5189
URI / Page ID: https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/146
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