Female Clergy

The Vatican is losing the war of public opinion in the pews. It needs to flex its muscles. It needs to create fresh fear.

Christian baptism means complete, not partial, church membership. Any kind of churchly caste system is on the shakiest theological grounds. A baptized Christian is equal to any other baptized Christian as a member of the Body of Christ.

By David Gibson Religion News Service American Episcopalians upset with their denomination's acceptance of gay and female clergy can now convert t...

I remember telling a vacation bible school teacher that "I was trying to decide between being a minister or a jet pilot." She smiled and said, "Well, girls can be jet pilots, but God only calls men to preach."

Father Bourgeois is a priest who is a member of the Maryknoll religious order. In 2008 he participated in the ordination of a woman conducted by a group known as the Roman Catholic Womenpriests.

At the mainstream Roman Catholic mass I attended this past Pentecost Sunday, two prayers for loving acceptance of "homosexual" Catholics were incorporated into the Prayers of the Faithful.

The mistreatment of women is one of the longest-running forms of human wickedness in our history and culture, down to the present. But Christianity ought to be a wellspring of egalitarianism.

For too long, many Christians have used spot-checks in Scripture to exclude groups from the radical equality and freedom before God that serve as the base of Jesus' Gospel message.

By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) Every now and then, the Rev. Amy Butler will find herself having to do a little simultan...

By Michael O'Malley Religion News Service ROCHESTER, N.Y. (RNS) At Spiritus Christi Church, the choir sings the lyrics of "Amazing Grace" to the t...

What is Father Bourgeois' transgression? Did he travel the world with a pet altar boy in tow? No. He committed a truly grave sin. One the Vatican deems intolerable.

It is time for male seminarians and clergy to repay their female classmates for all they continue to teach us and celebrate their coequal presence within our communities.

Leading the congregation, singing the ancient liturgy, I feel sexy, vibrant, and feminine. I feel so Jewish, and being so Jewish for me means being so womanly.

Why do women persist in the religious life, or as members of congregations, when the church is so often a test of our resilience, or when our opinions are seen as defiance?

Just six weeks after Sara Hurwitz was granted the title of "rabba" -- a feminized version of "rabbi" -- that title is in jeopardy as Orthodox Jews con...