ABSTRACT
Feminist thought in the discipline of religious studies is developing a new model for describing the relationship between religion and other aspects of life, including politics. A "model," as used herein, is an intellectual construct against which reality can be measured. Historically, the dominant model might be characterized as "What has God to do with Caesar, or Caesar with God?" The new model being developed in the current literature strongly indicates that (at least in theory) God and Caesar definitely do have to do with each other, that religion and politics are very closely linked indeed. But do the writings of feminist theologians bear out this theoretically espoused linkage? An investigation of three contemporary political issues--the struggle for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, interest in the development of more ecologically sound lifestyles, and concern over the threat of a nuclear holocaust--provides a concrete case study of how well practice embodies theory. How responsive is the church--this time in the writings of its best known feminist spokespersons--to these widely recognized "liberal issues"?
