Breaking Through the Stained Glass Ceiling: Women Religious Leaders in Their Own Words

This collection of lively Q&A interviews with key contemporary female religious leaders focuses not only on the discrimination faced by women in religion, but documents the emerging leadership of women in several faith traditions.

Foreword by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
Introduction *  Acknowledgments  *  A Word about Interfaith Voices

Chapter 1 – Women in Denominational or Organizational Religious Leadership
•    Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church
•    Rev. Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President, Christian Church/Disciples of Christ, Preacher at Inaugural Service of President Obama
•    Bishop Vashti McKenzie, First Woman Bishop, African Methodist Episcopal Church
•    Rev. Susan Andrews: First Woman National Moderator of the Presbyterian Church/USA
•    Dr. Ingrid Mattson, President of the Islamic Society of North America
•    Swami Krishna Priya Bognavati: First Woman Hindu Acharya (Teacher/Guide) in the U.S.
•    Ishani Chowdury, the “face of Hinduism” in Washington: Director of Public Policy for the Hindu American Foundation
•    The Mourchidates of Morocco: Fatima Zahra Salhi, Ilham Chafik, and Nezha Nassi
•    Starhawk: Leader of the Earth-Based Wiccan/Goddess Tradition 

Chapter 2 – Women Theologians and Scripture Scholars
•    Dr. Amy Jill Levine on The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus
•    Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker on Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of this World for Crucifixion and Empire 
•    Dr. Elaine Pagels on Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas
•    Dr. Karen King on the Nag Hammadi Library and The Gospel of Judas
•    Dr. Julie Galambush on The Reluctant Parting: How the New Testament Jewish Writers Created a Christian Book

Chapter 3 – Women in Feminist Theology
•    Dr. Mary Hunt and Dr. Judith Plaskow on Christian & Jewish Feminist Theology
•    Dr. Rosemary Radford Ruether on Goddesses & the Divine Feminine
•    Dr. Rosemary Radford Ruether and Dr. Delores Williams on Feminist and Womanist Theologies
•    Dr. Amina Wadud on Inside the Gender Jihad
•    Dr. Elizabeth Johnson on She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse
•    Dr. Rena Pederson on The Lost Apostle: Searching for the Truth About Junia
•    Dr. Phyllis Trible on Hagar, Sarah and Their Children

Chapter 4 – Religious Feminist Activists
•    Rabbi Eveline Goodman-Thau, First Woman Orthodox Rabbi
•    Aisha Taylor, former Executive Director, Women’s Ordination Conference on the Archeological Evidence for Women’s Leadership
•    Rev. Andrea Johnson, Roman Catholic Woman Bishop
•    Rabbi Susan Talve, Central Reform Congregation, St. Louis, MO
•    Asra Nomani on Standing Alone at Mecca
•    Daisy Khan, Executive Director of ASMA, the American Society for Muslim Advancement and Muslim Women Organizing for Empowerment      

Chapter 5 – Women Leaders in Spirituality
•    Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB on Called to Question: Her Memoir
•    Barbara Brown Taylor on Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith
•    Ann Lamott on Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
•    Immaculee Ilibagiza, on Left to Tell: Finding God in the Rwandan Genocide
•    Sharon Salzburg (with Robert Thurman) On Buddhism in America
•    Sallie Tisdale on Women of the Way: Buddhist Women though 2500 Years
•    LaDonna Harris on Native American Spirituality
•    Rev. Dr. Renita Weems on Womanist Spirituality
•    Jean Houston on Mystical Dogs: Animals as Guides to our Inner Life 
•    Dr. Jeanette Rodriquez on Our Lady of Gaudalupe in Mexican-American Spirituality

Chapter 6 – Women Leaders in Social Justice, Peace and Ecology
•    Layli Miller-Muro: Caring About Women’s Rights in the Baha’i Tradition
•    Sr. Helen Prejean, CSJ on The Death of Innocents
•    Kathleen Kennedy Townsend: Reclaiming the Catholic Social Justice Tradition
•    Julia Butterfly Hill: Out on a Limb, Saving the Redwoods
•    Kim Bobo: Defending the Rights of Working People
•    Lutheran Bishop Margaret Payne: Seeking Peace and Human Rights in the Middle East
•    Leymah Gbowee and Abigail Disney: Christian and Muslim Women in Liberia “Pray the Devil Back to Hell”

Chapter 7 – Women Leaders in Interfaith Relations
•    Diana Eck of the Pluralism Project
•    Mary Helene Rosenbaum on the Challenges of Interfaith Marriage
•    Dr. Susanna Heschel on the Interfaith friendship of her father and Dr. Martin Luther King
•    Ranya Idilby (Muslim), Suzanne Oliver (Christian), Priscilla Warner (Jewish) on The Faith Club - an Interfaith movement in their living rooms
•    Kathy Giese, a Christian, Olivia Berardi, a Jew and Nafees Ahmed, a Muslim Conducting Teenage Interfaith Dialogue

Chapter 8 – Women Leaders in Religious Media
•    Barbara Bradley Haggerty, NPR Religion Correspondent, On Fingerprints of God (on the Science of Spirituality)
•    Krista Tippett On Speaking of Faith

Epilogue

Maureen Fiedler's public radio show, Interfaith Voices, is now heard in seventy markets throughout the country. Fiedler holds a Ph.D. in Government from Georgetown University and is a Sister of Loretto. Prior to her radio career, she was a recognized religious feminist in the Roman Catholic Church. She was also an interfaith activist for the Equal Rights Amendment (1978-82) and head of Catholics Act for ERA. In 1982, she was one of eight women who fasted for thirty-seven days for ratification of the ERA. She lives in Maryland.