Author: Amy Carr

Amy Carr is Professor of Religious Studies at Western Illinois University.

Leaning In to the Constructive Criticisms: On Justice, the Heart of the Gospel, Quietism, and Both-Sideism`

[1] In the section above we situated the responses to our book in a historical framework of Lutheran thought. We now lean into thinking with some of the questions, concerns, and alternatives offered by our reviewers. [2] Both Justin Nickel and Leah Schade commented that we had not clarified the precise notion of justice presupposed […]

First Thoughts on the End of Roe v. Wade: State Rules, Gender Norms, and the Fragile (or Conditional) Personhood of Women

[1] This is a period piece, a snapshot of one Gen X theologian’s first reactions, landing on some observations and questions to hold open in the life of faith. [2] At some point on June 24, 2022, I realized I had entered the same kind of space I found myself in on September 11, 2001 […]

What Makes for a Theological Vocation in the ELCA?

[1] As a theologian who teaches religious studies at a public university, I hesitated to contribute to a question about the role of women’s leadership in the Lutheran academy in the U.S. I comfortably identify as a Lutheran theologian who works alongside two wonderful religious studies colleagues, both women, one specializing in Asian religions and […]

Theological Touchstones for Disagreeing in the Body of Christ

[1] Martin Luther wrote his Small Catechism after traveling and observing how little of Christian teaching most people knew. Four hundred years later, one of us (Amy) had a Missouri Synod Lutheran grandmother who was not permitted to move from lower to upper Michigan with the rest of her family until she had finished memorizing the Small […]