While this derives from a Madeleva lecture of the same title that was delivered in 1993, the points made and updated by Elizabeth Johnson in this revised edition of Women, Earth, and Creator Spirit are even more pressing today. Since the 1990s, the environment has only been degraded more, and one could argue that the status of women has been eroded by the rise of religious fundamentalism in almost every culture. Johnson draws out the links between attitudes toward women and the way we treat the natural world around us. If nature is somehow perceived as “feminine,” then it is no surprise that it is heedlessly abused and used, especially when both women and the earth exist under the sovereignty of a patriarchal God.

Elizabeth A. Johnson, CSJ, holds a doctorate from The Catholic University of America and is distinguished professor of theology emerita at Fordham University in New York City.
†