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Book Review: Religion and Gender

Martin shows no appreciation of this dimension of feminist theology and is thus in a better position to minimize its contributions both to theology and to the life of the Church. The third fundamental presupposition concerns Enlightenment individualism which Martin claims is writ large within feminist theology. Against this he seeks to propose a relational view of the person. It is quite an astonishing, indeed insulting, omission that not a single work by a Christian feminist theologian of relationship is used, cited, referred to or discussed. How can we have a serious book about feminist theology which does not make use of Mary Grey or Carter Heyward in this context? These theologians have been doing constructive work in precisely the area that Martin is himself exploring, but you would get no indication of this whatsoever from reading his book. Martin's treatment of this subject leads me to be deeply suspicious of his intentions and of his scholarly method. I am disappointed in this, because he promises dialogue and genuine engagement. However, his is a reductionist and polemical argument, which thanks women for their good questions that he has taken some trouble to respond to, but which sends them home with no place in theological partnership. What begins with some warmth towards the stirrings within humanity which feminism manifests and dares to speak, ends with the cold tone of demanding that we seek forgiveness for our 'egotism, self-righteous anger, infidelity to truth, and fear' (p.422). Surely we all alike pray for this, and hope that Martin too may one day notice how profoundly all of these things are written into his own text.