In the last few years, we have seen a significant ramp-up of hateful rhetoric pointed straight at strong women.
We’ve been called emotional, irrational, and uninformed for speaking against patriarchal and toxic systems. Every feminist knows that this isn’t a new phenomenon. The nasty and often personal attacks are an old trick meant to shut us down so we don’t get into “good trouble”. Even labeling ourselves Christian feminists seems to make misogynists scream.
It’s a constant battle that feminists fight and it’s 1000 times WORSE for Christian feminists because toxic patriarchy has such a stranglehold on most denominations.
Let’s be honest: constantly batting away hateful personal attacks can leave a gal feeling discouraged and isolated.
But if you’re one of the growing number of Christian feminists, you are not alone.
There are so many of us in this with you, and we share your passion for all genders to be seen as the equals God created us to be. Together we WILL #smashthepatriarchy and empower the next generation to build on our shoulders. Here are a few of my favorite Christian Feminists quotes from some powerful women to give you a little extra bump of encouragement and fire up your feminist soul.
“I have chosen to no longer be apologetic for my femaleness and my femininity. And I want to be respected in all of my femaleness because I deserve to be.”
― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, We Should All Be Feminists
“I look forward to the day when women with leadership and insight, gifts and talents, callings and prophetic leanings are called out and celebrated as Deborah, instead of silenced as Jezebel.”
― Sarah Bessey, Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible’s View of Women ( a classic must-read for all Christian feminists)
“The psyches and souls of women also have their own cycles and seasons of doing and solitude, running and staying, being involved and being removed, questing and resting, creating and incubating, being of the world and returning to the soul-place.”
― Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype
“What if, in raising children, we focus on ability instead of gender? What if we focus on interest instead of gender?”
― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, We Should All Be Feminists
“Patriarchy is not God’s dream for humanity.”
― Sarah Bessey, Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible’s View of Women
“But we’ve lost the plot if we use religion as the place where we escape from difficult realities instead of as the place where those difficult realities are given meaning.”
― Nadia Bolz-Weber, Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People
“I’ve often said that those who say having a childlike faith means not asking questions haven’t met too many children.”
― Rachel Held Evans, Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again
“People want black-and-white answers, but Scripture is a rainbow arch across a stormy sky.”
― Sarah Bessey, Jesus Feminist
“What we believe about God will tell us what we believe about people; and what we believe about people will tell us what kinds of communities and societies we believe we should strive to create.”
― Brenda Salter McNeil, Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0: Moving Communities into Unity, Wholeness and Justice
“I saw how Jesus didn’t treat women any differently than men, and I liked that. We weren’t too precious for words, dainty like fine china. We received no free pass or delicate worries about our ability to understand or contribute or work. Women were not too sweet or weak for the conviction of the Holy Spirit, or too manipulative and prone to jealousy, insecurity, and deception to push back the kingdom of darkness.”
― Sarah Bessey, Jesus Feminist
“Because sometimes the most holy thing we can say is:
No. Not on my watch.”― Nadia Bolz-Weber, Shameless: A Sexual Reformation
“I want a legacy dripping with human connection, up to its eyeballs in memories and adventures and weathered storms and gladness. I hope to leave a wake of victory, a life of full integrity. I want to say it all, risk it all, own it all.”
― Jen Hatmaker, Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire: The Guide to Being Glorious You
“Sometimes the best thing we can do for each other is talk honestly about being wrong.”
― Nadia Bolz-Weber, Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint
“Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.”
― Brené Brown, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
“I am trying to unlearn many lessons of gender I internalized while growing up. But I sometimes still feel vulnerable in the face of gender expectations.”
― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, We Should All Be Feminists
I hope these quotes for Christian feminists fill you with a sense of inspiration, solidarity, and encouragement. And if you are looking for a community of like-minded Christian feminists, click here to check out the free Christian Women Who Lead group.
Angela is a Faith Deconstruction Coach and host of The Deconstructing Faith Summit who helps people break free from toxic religious culture & empowers them to recover from #churchhurt. She has led online ministries for a decade, enjoys working with clients 1:1, in groups, and is a dynamic conference speaker. She’s a Lark’s Song Certified Life Coach who reaches thousands of people in 40+ countries each month on Facebook, IG, Twitter, Pinterest, and her blog.
She’s a firstborn, Enneagram 8, Gen Xer who loves to question everything. She holds a BA from Indiana Wesleyan and a Masters in Leadership from Wesley Seminary. Her graduate research project focused on leadership development and opportunities for Gen X women in the US church.
Angela and her unique online ministry are featured in Lyz Lenz’s 2019 book God Land: Story of Faith, Loss, and Renewal in Middle America. She has published articles in Hope for Women and HOPE is Now magazines. She has been featured in The New Republic, Publisher’s Today, and Religion News Service.
Her first book, Deconstructing Your Faith Without Losing Yourself, Will be published by Eerdmans in February 2023.
Angela is also a wife, mom to 5, and a proud resident of Marion, Indiana with her family when they’re not traveling the US in their RV.
