Christian feminism? Women Against the Ordination of Women and the St. Hilda Community, 1986–92

Abstract

Abstract Women who identified as both religious and feminists occupied a liminal space within the women’s movement of the late twentieth century. This article explores the activism of two groups at opposite ends of the ordination debate. Women Against the Ordination of Women (W.A.O.W.) were advocates of women’s equality, but against imposing secular values onto sacramental matters, whereas the St. Hilda Community championed women’s ordination and sought to establish a community for those otherwise ostracized from Anglican life. This article explores the activism of two groups at opposite ends of the Church of England’s ordination debate.