Overview

Religiously influenced social movements tend to be characterized as products of the conservative turn in Protestant and Catholic life in the latter part of the twentieth century, with women's mobilizations centering on defense of the ""traditional"" family. In Liberal Christianity and Women's Global Activism, Amanda L. Izzo argues that, contrary to this view, liberal wings of Christian churches have remained an instrumental presence in U.S. and transnational politics. Women have been at the forefront of such efforts. Focusing on the histories of two highly influential groups, the Young Women's Christian Association of the USA, an interdenominational Protestant organization, and the Maryknoll Sisters, a Roman Catholic religious order, Izzo offers new perspectives on the contributions of these women to transnational social movements, women's history, and religious studies, as she traces the connections between turn-of-the-century Christian women's reform culture and liberal and left-wing religious social movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Izzo suggests that shared ethical, theological, and institutional underpinnings can transcend denominational divides, and that strategies for social change often associated with secular feminism have ties to spiritually inspired social movements.

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9780813588476

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Reviews

Amanda Izzo's book is a revelation. Two intertwining stories--the Maryknoll sisters going from cold warriors to dissidents, and the YWCA as the target of anti-communist repression-- together demonstrate how faith in the power of love propelled Christian women's political agendas on a world stage in the 20th century. --Ann Braude author of Sisters and Saints: Women and American Religion The Author's Corner with Amanda Izzo --The Way of Improvement Leads Home ?Weekly Book List, April 27, 2018 compiled by Nina Ayoub--Chronicle of Higher Education In this crisply-written and illuminating account, Amanda Izzo tells the story of two women's associations, the Protestant YWCA and the Catholic Maryknoll sisters. Following dramatically different routes along the way, the groups' politics converged in the 1960s and 70s, becoming powerful forces for social justice at home and abroad. Izzo treats both strands of this important alliance with nuance and insight, suggesting how far creeds of Christian love took the American people - and how far we have to go. --Jane Hunter author of Gospel of Gentility: American Women Missionaries in Turn-of-the-Century China Pg. 99: Amanda Izzo's 'Liberal Christianity and Women's Global Activism' by Marshal Zeringue--Campaign for the American Reader Amanda Izzo's wonderful excavation of early twentieth century women's activism among liberal Catholics and Protestants casts new light everywhere. Izzo stresses liberalism's activist energy, Maryknoll and YWCA globalism, and, ultimately, the importance of women's religious activism in the global human rights movement. Beautifully researched and even more beautifully written, Liberal Christianity and Women's Global Activism illuminates the exceptional reach of women's activism across religions and world borders. --Jon Butler Howard R. Lamar Professor Emeritus of American Studies, History, and Religious Studies Yale Univ.

In this crisply-written and illuminating account, Amanda Izzo tells the story of two women's associations, the Protestant YWCA and the Catholic Maryknoll sisters. Following dramatically different routes along the way, the groups' politics converged in the 1960s and 70s, becoming powerful forces for social justice at home and abroad. Izzo treats both strands of this important alliance with nuance and insight, suggesting how far creeds of Christian love took the American people - and how far we have to go. --Jane Hunter author of Gospel of Gentility: American Women Missionaries in Turn-of-the-Century China Pg. 99: Amanda Izzo's 'Liberal Christianity and Women's Global Activism' by Marshal Zeringue--Campaign for the American Reader ?Weekly Book List, April 27, 2018 compiled by Nina Ayoub--Chronicle of Higher Education Amanda Izzo's book is a revelation. Two intertwining stories--the Maryknoll sisters going from cold warriors to dissidents, and the YWCA as the target of anti-communist repression-- together demonstrate how faith in the power of love propelled Christian women's political agendas on a world stage in the 20th century. --Ann Braude author of Sisters and Saints: Women and American Religion The Author's Corner with Amanda Izzo --The Way of Improvement Leads Home Amanda Izzo's wonderful excavation of early twentieth century women's activism among liberal Catholics and Protestants casts new light everywhere. Izzo stresses liberalism's activist energy, Maryknoll and YWCA globalism, and, ultimately, the importance of women's religious activism in the global human rights movement. Beautifully researched and even more beautifully written, Liberal Christianity and Women's Global Activism illuminates the exceptional reach of women's activism across religions and world borders. --Jon Butler Howard R. Lamar Professor Emeritus of American Studies, History, and Religious Studies Yale Univ.

In this crisply-written and illuminating account, Amanda Izzo tells the story of two women's associations, the Protestant YWCA and the Catholic Maryknoll sisters. Following dramatically different routes along the way, the groups' politics converged in the 1960s and 70s, becoming powerful forces for social justice at home and abroad. Izzo treats both strands of this important alliance with nuance and insight, suggesting how far creeds of Christian love took the American people - and how far we have to go. --Jane Hunter author of Gospel of Gentility: American Women Missionaries in Turn-of-the-Century China Pg. 99: Amanda Izzo's 'Liberal Christianity and Women's Global Activism' by Marshal Zeringue--Campaign for the American Reader The Author's Corner with Amanda Izzo --The Way of Improvement Leads Home Amanda Izzo's book is a revelation. Two intertwining stories--the Maryknoll sisters going from cold warriors to dissidents, and the YWCA as the target of anti-communist repression-- together demonstrate how faith in the power of love propelled Christian women's political agendas on a world stage in the 20th century. --Ann Braude author of Sisters and Saints: Women and American Religion ?Weekly Book List, April 27, 2018 compiled by Nina Ayoub--Chronicle of Higher Education Amanda Izzo's wonderful excavation of early twentieth century women's activism among liberal Catholics and Protestants casts new light everywhere. Izzo stresses liberalism's activist energy, Maryknoll and YWCA globalism, and, ultimately, the importance of women's religious activism in the global human rights movement. Beautifully researched and even more beautifully written, Liberal Christianity and Women's Global Activism illuminates the exceptional reach of women's activism across religions and world borders. --Jon Butler Howard R. Lamar Professor Emeritus of American Studies, History, and Religious Studies Yale Univ.

Amanda Izzo's book is a revelation. Two intertwining stories--the Maryknoll sisters going from cold warriors to dissidents, and the YWCA as the target of anti-communist repression-- together demonstrate how faith in the power of love propelled Christian women's political agendas on a world stage in the 20th century. --Ann Braude author of Sisters and Saints: Women and American Religion In this crisply-written and illuminating account, Amanda Izzo tells the story of two women's associations, the Protestant YWCA and the Catholic Maryknoll sisters. Following dramatically different routes along the way, the groups' politics converged in the 1960s and 70s, becoming powerful forces for social justice at home and abroad. Izzo treats both strands of this important alliance with nuance and insight, suggesting how far creeds of Christian love took the American people - and how far we have to go. --Jane Hunter author of Gospel of Gentility: American Women Missionaries in Turn-of-the-Century China Amanda Izzo's wonderful excavation of early twentieth century women's activism among liberal Catholics and Protestants casts new light everywhere. Izzo stresses liberalism's activist energy, Maryknoll and YWCA globalism, and, ultimately, the importance of women's religious activism in the global human rights movement. Beautifully researched and even more beautifully written, Liberal Christianity and Women's Global Activism illuminates the exceptional reach of women's activism across religions and world borders. --Jon Butler Howard R. Lamar Professor Emeritus of American Studies, History, and Religious Studies Yale Univ.

Author Information

AMANDA L. IZZO is an assistant professor of women’s and gender studies at St. Louis University in Missouri.

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