Bodies that Matter to God

Abstract

Judith Butler revolutionized feminist thought through her theory of gender performance, especially through her book Bodies that Matter, which emphasized how bodies are materialized into intelligibility by discursive means. An aspect that merits more attention is how a theory of performativity can help us to understand religion’s role in this materialization and valuing of bodies. This article proposes a theory of religious performativity based on a conception of agency that takes seriously the additional role of a transcendent agent for the religious person and is, therefore, distinct from Butler. The feminist-based theory is then applied to two documents from complementarian evangelical Christian women within a movement called #SilenceIsNotSpiritual, in order to offer deeper understanding of a predominantly self-identified non-feminist population. This analysis suggests a subtle shift of power is taking place as these women enact their agency, while also highlighting the intricate differences of this movement from the #MeToo movement.