In our world today, many single and celibate people find themselyes isolated on all sides. In the secular culture with its glorification obsexual behavior, celibacy is seen as restrictive, a denial of one's deepest nature. In religious circles, for anyone but Roman Catholie priests, being single is often seen as a temporary and unfortunate stage in life something to be stoically endured until marriage. But in fact millions of people in the pews of Profestant Episcopal and Catholic churches every week are living a single life, and many are happy to stay that way. Whether widowed, never married, or divorced, many believers understand their single lives not as a passing moment but as a celebratory way of life rich in its own benefits and rewards. In this book Annemarie Kidder offers the theological basis for what so many Christians experience in their own lives. By examining be Hebrew and Christian scriptures early church writings from the East and West and later commentators, she develops a theology of the single life applicable to both women and men. Protestan, Episcopal, and Catholic. This book is a must-read for all single Christians, both those who feel called to remain single and those who for whatever reason find themselves single for long periods of time. Book jacket.

In Passionate and Pious Monique Moultrie explores the impact of faith-based sexual ministries on black women's sexual agency to trace how these women navigate sexuality, religious authority, and their spiritual walk with God. Providing churchwomen a space to candidly discuss these issues, these popular ministries exist largely beyond the traditional church, with dialogues about sex taking place in chat rooms and through text messages, social media, email, and other media. Moultrie foregrounds televangelist Juanita Bynum's construction of the black Christian sexual identity these ministries promote while emphasizing how churchwomen reconcile these prescriptive identities with their individual experiences. What does it mean for senior women to exercise sexual agency when their church standing could be questioned? What does celibacy mean for women who experience same-sex desire while believing that such desire goes against God's will? Advancing a womanist sexual ethics, Moultrie reframes biblical interpretations and conceptions of what constitutes a healthy relationship to provide a basis for sexual decision making that does not privilege monogamy or deny female pleasure, thereby calling on black churchwomen to experience responsible and life-enhancing sex.

"Before the Reformation, in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, being a wife or mother was not a holy vocation. The only "spiritual" calling for women was to be found in a convent. The Reformers confronted the bad theology which led to this (and other worse abuses, like priest-patronized brothels) and returned to the Bible to develop a theology of vocation that began to free Christians to be "holy" no matter their occupation. But today, modern feminist claims about vocation have more in common with the pre-Reformation popes than anything else -- except feminists have replaced the nunnery with the hallowed corporate workplace. Christian women wondering about their place in society and comparing feminism with the Bible should start with the teaching of the Reformers and the lives of many exceptional women of the Reformation. Part history and part contemporary reflection, Popes and Feminists argues that women today have some of the same choices facing them as women in the sixteenth century. In this fascinating study, Elise Crapuchettes shows how the Reformation changed the lives of Christian women as it turned them away from trying to earn their salvation and toward a joyful, liberating view of vocation and work"--Page 4 of cover.

Authors Christine Colón and Bonnie Field thought that by a certain age they would each be married. But they watched that age come and go--and still no walks down the aisle. In Singled Out, they reflect on their experience--and that of an increasing number of Christians. Rejecting overly simplistic messages from the church about "waiting for marriage," they explore a deeper understanding of celibacy that affirms singles' decision to be sexually pure, acknowledges their struggles, and recognizes their importance in the church community. Thoughtful and accessible, Singled Out is an invaluable voice of realistic encouragement for any single as well as an important tool for church leaders and others concerned with mission and ministry for singles.

Sex is not a simple concept. Focusing on the issue of celibacy, the author explores the cultures of three post-Civil War utopian communities and their relation to female status in American society. From her examination of the Shakers, Koreshans, and Sanctificationists, the author concludes that the adoption of celibacy promoted theoretical sexual equality and female social power in those religious groups. -- Bookjacket.

In her most important work, Matilda Joslyn Gage, founder of the Women's National Liberal Union, attacks the religious ideas and customs which historically have oppressed women.