Author: Mary Streufert

Streufert holds a doctorate in philosophy of religion and theology from Claremont Graduate University and serves as director for Gender Justice and Women’s Empowerment in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Her publications include feminist systematic theology; sex, gender, and sexuality theories; Luther scholarship—and most recently, Language for God: A Lutheran Perspective (Fortress Press, 2022).

The Theology of Holy Communion Empowers Christians to End Sexual Harassment and Assault

Introduction [1] [1] Holy Communion matters for Lutherans. It is central to who we understand ourselves to be as Christians. Lutherans believe and teach that the Lord’s Supper is not simply bread and wine eaten in a reenactment of the Last Supper, but, as Martin Luther teaches in The Large Catechism, “it is bread and […]

 A Complex Position on Abortion: Access, Decision-making, and Legality

[1] Have you ever been unexpectedly pregnant?  I have. [2] When I realized I was pregnant, the visceral alarm I felt brought the words, “How can this be?” to my lips.  I did not intend to speak Mary’s words when the angel spoke to her (Luke 1:34a).  But there they were, signaling disbelief, alarm, disruption.  […]

Gender and Justification within Empire: Toward a Christian Ethic of Gender Justice

Mary Streufert explores the “otherizing” of women in historical and modern times by analyzing themes of justification and theology of the cross. Streufert compares modern advertisements to ancient sculpture to lend a visual illustration to the concept.

Patricia Beattie Jung and Aana Marie Vigen’s God, Science, Sex, Gender: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Christian Ethics

1] In the midst of Christian debates on sexuality that ultimately rest on various biblical hermeneutical schools and practices, Patricia Beattie Jung and Aana Marie Vigen have edited a multi-faceted volume on human sexuality that challenges an overriding focus in Christian theological discourse on one normative source, Scripture. As a whole, the volume’s contributors offer […]