Abstract
When we consider Catholicism in regard to contemporary women’s studies, we tend to identify it as “difference” only in relation to other categories of analysis; in other words, we link Catholicism to issues of gender and class, often in ways that do not reflect favorably upon the religion. The association of the Roman Catholic Church with gender discrimination is hardly surprising. The writings of many feminist theorists display a serious concern about the relationship between gender and Judeo-Christian religions, but the Catholic Church is particularly problematic for feminists because it perpetuates distinctly gendered repressions: it indoctrinates young girls into their limiting roles as Catholic women, marginalizing them from participation in the church hierarchy of administration and clergy. Class issues are also particularly relevant to Catholicism; indeed, the institution is often referred to as the “immigrant church,” reinforcing the stereotype that Irish, Italian, and Polish working-class peoples solely constitute its membership (Gandolfo 7). Catholic literature by women speaks to this characterization of the church: Mary Gordon’s characters in Final Payments must fight against being regarded as a “mess of immigrant knuckles,” and Nancy Mairs refers to her conversion to Catholicism as a “discernable step down” (Gordon 7; Mairs 89).
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© 2007 Jeana DelRosso, Leigh Eicke, and Ana Kothe
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DelRosso, J. (2007). Catholicism’s Other(ed) Holy Trinity: Race, Class, and Gender in Black Catholic Girl School Narratives. In: DelRosso, J., Eicke, L., Kothe, A. (eds) The Catholic Church and Unruly Women Writers. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230609303_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230609303_13
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