Radical Feminist Nuns: Spiritual Activism, Catholicism, and the Power of (Sister)Hood

Based on the readings of authors such as Gloria Anzaldúa, AnaLouise Keating, Leela Fernandes, and others, throughout the course of this semester, I have been able to develop my own definition of spiritual activism that I believe integrates the theories and concepts that these scholars have written about with my own experiences. Having done both intensive self-study and academic research, I have come to understand that spiritual activism is the act of transforming one’s self through personal and communal reflection in order to work towards transforming the world and set it on a pathway towards equity and social justice. Based on this definition, and my own interest in the topic, I decided to conduct research on specific groups of Catholic Sisters, and investigate both how they act as spiritual activists, and how spiritual activism plays a role in their daily lives. My research explores the question: are these nuns’ definitions of spiritual activism different from mine, and if so, how are they different