Head of the Class

Mary Daly, a radical theologian whose examinations of patriarchy, religion and language helped launch the feminist movement, died earlier this January. Her work challenged a generation of thinkers to reexamine their religious traditions and incorporate the needs of women, who were then marginalized members of society. Daly's works were key to the creation of many women's studies programs and also cracked open theological studies for laypeople.

But as much of a pioneer as Daly was, she was also a controversial, self-described radical whose career began with a bang. When barred from Notre Dame's doctoral program in philosophy because she was a woman—this was before the Supreme Court struck down gender discrimination—Daly went to Switzerland's University of Fribourg and completed two PhDs. Her second book, Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women's Liberation, originally published in1973, sparked great amounts of controversy. The book argued for a reinterpretation of the anthropomorphic male godhead, which is sociological speak for how God is personified as a male father figure in Judeo-Christian religion. Need some context? By opening up a conversation as to what God actually was, early feminist theologians helped pave the way for new definitions of God. Thanks to the work of early feminist theologians like Daly, God stopped being a robed man with a long white beard. God became a part of everyone and everything.

Beyond God the Father flew in the face of centuries of Roman Catholic teaching because it not only pointed out systems of oppression within the church, but dared to imagine a new definition of religion that was inclusive of women. While Daly's reinterpretations of god and spirituality may seem trite now, they were nothing short of revolutionary for a generation of women who were systematically shut out of higher education and discourse around religion.

Daly in the Classroom

Amie Light, executive editor of The Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue and an assistant professor of theology at Duquesne University says that "Beyond God the Father has affected undergrads more than they know it."

Light, who studies the intersection of Roman Catholic ideology and inter-religious dialogue, argues that the book "set the stage for feminist theology" by simply daring to think beyond god as male protector. Daly "changed imaginations for scholars."

"Many of us were raised in religious households where [the works of early feminists] were in the air," Light says. Creating a different perception of what god was opened doors for many young women who wanted religion to speak to them.

"We didn't have to use male godtalk, which made theology a field that my generation wanted to go into," Light says. For people who had long been marginalized by religious traditions, the changing mindset finally made connections."It felt like God was working for love and justice."

Susan Ross, chair of Loyola University Chicago's Department of Theology, has been teaching for 29 years. In an email interview, Ross calls the impact of feminism on the academic environment "enormous."

"Before Vatican II (1962-1965), women—and most laypeople—did not study theology at an advanced level. It was mostly studied in seminaries by priests and priest candidates, obviously men," Ross writes.

Today's academic programs focused on divinity and theological programs have changed drastically. In the 2009-2010 academic year, 42.5 percent of students enrolled in graduate and certification level theology programs were women, according to a study conducted by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, an organization that comprises more than 250 academic departments in North America. That's a far cry from programs that didn't allow students to study theology on the basis of gender alone.

"My first students in a 'Women and Religion' class thought that we would study 'The Blessed Mother' and Joan of Arc," Ross writes. "To even mention gays or lesbians would trigger snickers or outright condemnation." According to Ross, today's students "expect to get feminist theory and, especially when it comes to LBGTQ issues, are much more knowledgeable and informed."

Radical Setbacks

Daly was not without critics. Poet Audre Lorde famously called her out in an open letter, published in her book Sister Outsider, for refusing to engage in a dialogue that was inclusive of women of color.

She also published work that included transphobic sentiments, as several feminist bloggers have noted. For example, Sady of the blog Tiger Beatdown wrote that Daly "intimated, at times, that [transmen] were part of a plot to eliminate 'real' women, and to assign 'men' all 'authentic' female functions. ... Let’s not be coy, here: no matter whether she believed this for her entire life, no matter whether she privately got over it later, she published it, without apparently ever publishing a retraction, as far as I can tell. This is hate. This is privilege. This, right here, is the face of the oppressor."

But despite her controversial stances, to Sady, Daly's work still has value. "It’s an important legacy—because of its accomplishment, because of its uniqueness, because of its tremendous potential to harm—that we cannot, and should not, ignore it"

Frances Kissling, the former president of Catholics for Choice, met Daly 12 years ago and described their relationship via email. Kissling agrees that criticism of Daly has merits, but "at the same time, I think we need to make room for people who make a contribution at a critical time, but do not change a lot over time."

Kissling calls Mary a "loner" and a "maverick," and says that "mavericks tend to provoke and they provoke in all directions. Sometimes we love it when they provoke people and ideas we disagree with, but they turn around and slap us in the face.

" Daly's controversial theories were echoed in her classes. In 1969, she was denied tenure at Boston College, but was reinstated after over 1000 male students signed a petition in her favor. Daly left Boston College in 1999, ostensibly forced into retirement for refusing to admit men into her high-level classes on the grounds that men stunted the conversation in the classroom; that their presence suppressed female students' abilities to speak out and engage in unfettered discourse.

After she left Boston College, Daly asked Kissling to help her raise money to help make ends meet. "Mary was poor," Kissling writes. "I found her naïve about how things worked and she was very disappointed at how little support she got. I think most of us who are mavericks develop over time the recognition that outrageousness without power means you are likely to be alone when the tough times come."

Revelation in the Fringes

Light agrees that Daly's work is vital to theological and feminist study, despite its controversy. "She continues to teach a critical lesson: That when one critiques oppression, one must never reinscribe the kinds of oppression that one is critiquing [on other people]," Light says.

Furthermore, there is value to using Daly's work to open dialogue around inclusion and equality in the classroom. By inhabiting a radical, marginalized space, Daly was able to make profound connections between the marginalized and the teachings of Jesus that impact the way many religions reach out to new communities. "All of the thinkers who use metaphors of the 'fringe' need to trace their work back to Daly's platform that the fringe is where revelation occurs," Light says.

To today's students, Mary Daly still comes off as quite radical. Ross writes that "It's always a risk" to include Daly's work in the classroom. "One student once complained on ratemyprofessor.com that I 'hated God.' [because of my inclusion of Daly's work]... I don't worry too much about their reactions since I cover all the bases, but I consider it my responsibility as a teacher to shake students up."

But Ross hasn't stopped using Daly's work. "I think the benefits are having the students see that there is a much wider world out there," Ross writes.

Erin Polgreen is a senior program associate for The Media Consortium, a leading independent online news network.

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