Mujerista Theology
Overview and Roots
Mujerista theology is, as Cuban theologian Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz (1943-2012) (pictured) coined it, a “liberative praxis,” or a method of liberation through reflection. It involves both ethics and theology to ensure that God’s centrality in the Hispanic community remains at the heart of their lives and work and sets out to do the following:
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Enable Hispanic women to develop “a strong sense of moral agency” and highlight the worth of their being, thoughts, and actions. Through this, these women can redefine “the norm” in church and society, which is currently determined by oppressive foundations.
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Help Hispanic women envision a “radically different society” according to their preferences and aspirations.
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Empower Hispanic women to understand the key roles they already occupy in society.
Isasi-Diaz ties mujerista theology to the terms Mujerismo and Mujerista, which are derived from expressions of soul, culture, and music of the Hispanic community. Mujerismo refers to the struggle of Hispanic women against oppression and is described by Isasi-Diaz as a term that should be kept open to interpretation. It also acts as a contrast to machismo, toxic masculinity in Latin cultures. However, as other scholars such as Elena Olazagasti-Segovia and Sandra Mangual-Rodriguez note, this term is not inclusive of women in the LBGTQI+ community or Protestant women; thus, mujerista theology is a preferred term because it does include intersectional identities.
On the other hand, Mujerista is the woman who struggles with liberation as a member of the Hispanic community (not solely as an individual). A mujerista is integral to unity among Hispanic people and acts as a vessel for the “hopes and expectations of her people about justice and peace.” As a term, it offers an alternative to the previously adopted feministas hispanas (Hispanic feminists), which received backlash due to its direct ties to feminism, largely seen as an Anglo women’s plight, and thereby criticized from both sides. However, mujerista allows Hispanic women to distinguish themselves from white feminism and maintain their various ethnic and national identities (e.g. Chicana/Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban) and thus be “juntas pero no revueltas (together but not scrambled).”
Mujerista Theology Adapts
Telling the story of one’s own life is a strong facet of mujerista theology, and scholar Kwok Pui-lan, a longtime friend of Isasi-Diaz, notes that Isasi-Diaz took this concept further than other research areas had. Pui-lan reflects on Isasi-Diaz’s use of ethnography to study the “theological significance of Hispanic women’s lives in their concrete everyday experiences,” which contrasts the traditional “macro level” approach by Isasi-Diaz and Pui-lan’s male peers. Pui-lan credits Isasi-Diaz with giving the Hispanic women she [Isasi-Diaz] researched the push “to claim the ‘power to narrate,’ to borrow Edward Said’s language.” As time goes on, the more women are able to tell their own stories and contribute to the malleability of mujerista theology as a whole.
In a 2011 interview, Isasi-Diaz refers to mujerista theology as a “people-centred theology” that has grown from a primarily Roman Catholic Latina foundation to being more ecumenical and inter-religious, and the Bible has become a greater focus of engagement. (Previously, the Vatican was the root of mujerista theology.) When asked how she saw mujerista theology developing in the next decade, Isasi-Diaz said that there needed be a “stronger link between ethics and theology” that essentially sees them as intertwined, more inter-religious flexibility (since many Latinas subscribe to religions/spirituality other than Christianity or Catholicism), and better use of Latino/a philosophers.
Scholar Lara Medina reflects on how mujerista theology has developed, especially in regards to inclusivity within the LGBTQI+ community. She notes how the movement’s foundation of moral agency is “vital...to fully embrace…[LGBTQI+] members of our families and communities regardless of what religious institutions teach.” This affirms family as a heart of the Latino community and demonstrates Isasi-Diaz’s observation that the theology is deviating from its stricter Roman Catholic roots (though Isasi-Diaz maintains that a commitment to religious understanding is crucial to mujerista theology).
Relevance to Other Feminisms
This concept can be compared to other feminisms such as intersectional feminism and Latina feminism. In relation to Kimberle Crenshaw's theory of Intersectionality, Mujerista Theology highlights the importance of strong womanhood and equitable relationships with men along with the complex positioning of that relationship within religion itself. Gender itself does not stand alone, but combines with religious identity to create a unique experience for women in society. This relates to intersectionality which posits the importance of considering not just one oppressed identity on its own, but the interactions between multiple marginalized identities and how they compound to create a unique and interrelated experience.
Gloria Anzaldua, in her novel, Borderlands La Frontera, also discusses this idea of religion impacting the experience of many women. A queer Latina feminist and Academic, Anzaldua provides a unique combination of Mujerista theology and activism within Latinx communities that have sometimes been cited as oppressive to women. She challenged various gender norms and expectations for women, while upholding religious values and remaining dedicated to some Catholic symbols of womanhood.
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Works Cited
Anzaldúa Gloria, et al. Borderlands: La Frontera. Capitan Swing, 2016.
Berger, Rose M. Image of Isasi-Diaz in “Mother of Mujerista Theology Dies,
Isasi-Diaz was 69.” rosemarieberger.com, accessed 03 Mar 2019, rosemarieberger.com/2012/05/14/mother-of-mujerista-theology-dies-isasi-diaz-was-69/.
Crenshaw, Kimberle. “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color.” Stanford Law Review, vol. 43, no. 6, 1991, p. 1241., doi:10.2307/1229039.
Isherwood, Lisa. “An Interview with Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz.” Feminist Theology,
vol. 20 no.1, 2011, pp. 8-17, DOI: 10.1177/0966735011411796
Medina, Lara. “Taking La Lucha to Heart I.” Feminist Theology, vol. 20 no. 1,
2011, pp 39-44, DOI: 10.1177/0966735011411807
Pui-lan, Kwok. “The Politics and Poetics of Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz.” Feminist
Theology, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 33-38, DOI: 10.1177/0966735011411806