Catholic women\u27s colleges and feminism: A case study of four Catholic women\u27s colleges

The purpose of this study was to investigate the historical relationship between four Catholic women\u27s colleges and the emergence and development of feminism in general and Catholic feminism in particular. The four colleges were: Trinity College, Washington, D.C., 1898; St. Mary\u27s College, Notre Dame, IN, 1903; The College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, MN, 1906; Regis College, Weston, MA, 1927. Three questions are examined, using official and informal publications and correspondence and interviews with the presidents and other staff of the colleges. In Catholic women\u27s colleges, what attitudes and beliefs about the role of women and the nature of the education of women were held by the founders and also their successors? How do these attitudes and beliefs relate to feminism and in what respects did Catholic women\u27s colleges share feminist goals? In what ways, if any, have Catholic women\u27s colleges contributed to Catholic feminism? The intentions of their founders and the mission statements and curricula demonstrate a sharing of the feminists\u27 goals of education and job opportunity for women. The mission and curricula show a reflection of the times and the needs of the students. These are woman-centered campuses with a clear Catholic identity; Catholicism and feminism co-exist in these colleges, resulting in a space for the development of Catholic feminism. Though they are not strongly feminist, these colleges are committed to remaining all female, and to remaining Catholic. They do not challenge their church on issues concerning women\u27s access to birth control and to abortion since to do so would violate their mission as Catholic institutions. However they act on feminist goals by encouraging women to learn, to achieve, and to effect change