Cuban Feminist Theology

Visions and Praxis

Ofelia Ortega - Foreword by Mary E. Hunt

Cuban Feminist Theology: Visions and Praxis offers rare and much needed insights in essays that span the entirety of Cuban theologian Ofelia Miriam Ortega’s career. The chapters address the social, economic, and political realities in Cuba, the Caribbean and Latin America as the contexts of Cuban feminist theology; the challenges of ecumenism; the urgency of feminist and liberationist theologies amongst patriarchal and oppressive systems throughout the world; and the importance of theological education.

Lexington Books / Fortress Academic

Pages: 324 • Trim: 6¼ x 9

978-1-9787-1299-7 • Hardback • February 2022 • $116.00 • (£89.00)

978-1-9787-1300-0 • eBook • February 2022 • $45.00 • (£35.00)

Series: Decolonizing Theology

Subjects: Religion / Theology, Religion / Sexuality & Gender Studies, Social Science / World / Latin America, Social Science / Ethnic Studies / Caribbean & Latin American Studies

Cuban Feminist Theology

Visions and Praxis

Hardback

eBook

Summary

Cuban Feminist Theology: Visions and Praxis offers rare and much needed insights in essays that span the entirety of Cuban theologian Ofelia Miriam Ortega’s career. The chapters address the social, economic, and political realities in Cuba, the Caribbean and Latin America as the contexts of Cuban feminist theology; the challenges of ecumenism; the urgency of feminist and liberationist theologies amongst patriarchal and oppressive systems throughout the world; and the importance of theological education.

Details

Lexington Books / Fortress Academic

Pages: 324 • Trim: 6¼ x 9

978-1-9787-1299-7 • Hardback • February 2022 • $116.00 • (£89.00)

978-1-9787-1300-0 • eBook • February 2022 • $45.00 • (£35.00)

Series: Decolonizing Theology

Subjects: Religion / Theology, Religion / Sexuality & Gender Studies, Social Science / World / Latin America, Social Science / Ethnic Studies / Caribbean & Latin American Studies

Author

Ofelia Ortega is a theologian, professor, and pastor of the Prebyterian Reformed Church in Cuba. She is the first woman to serve as the President of the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Matanzas, Cuba, and has worked for the World Council of Churches as Executive Secretary and President.

Table of Contents

Part I. Religious Life in the Historical and Social Context of Cuba
Introduction to Part I
1.Socio-economic, Political and Ecclesial Reality of Cuba
2.The Influence of the Missionary Heritage on Cuban Culture
3.Overview of Protestant Theology in Cuba during the Revolutionary Period
4.Encounters and Visions
Part II. The Church and Pastoral Ministry from a Global and Cuban Perspective
Introduction to Part II
5.Revolutionary Hope in the Church after Christendom
6.Ministry and Power: Changes in the Exercise of Leadership
7.Prophetic Presence in the Daily Life of the People. The Missionary Movement: From Difficulty to Common Good
8.Networks and Alternative Relationships: Building Bridges in Our Communities
Part III. Women and Theology with a Focus on Cuba and the Caribbean
Introduction to Part III
9.The Cuban Woman, Her Revolutionary Role and Her Struggle for Liberation within the Revolution and the Church
10.Ethical Problems and the Caribbean Woman’s Commitment to Life
11.The Community of Women and Men in Church and Society
12.Current Proposals and Challenges for Feminist Theology in Latin America and the Caribbean
Part IV. Theological Education and Mission: Challenges and a Search for New Models
Introduction to Part IV
13.Contextuality and Community: Challenges for Theological Education and Ecumenical Formation
14.Ecumenical Learning: A Fundamental Focus for Women’s Theological Education
15.Women and Theology: A Latin American Perspective
Part V. International, Social, Political, Ecological, and Ethical Themes
Introduction to Part V
16.The Presence of Tenderness in the First Testament
17.Toward a Culture of Just Peace in the Midst of Violence and World Conflicts
18.Toward a Humanizing Religion
19.Some Elements for Considering “Places of Epiphany” Today in a Latin American Context: Conditions, Difficulties and Hopes

Reviews

Ortega stays away from the encrypted, abstract, metaphysical language of the academy. Instead, her style is sharp and concrete in naming things for what they are. Cuban Feminist Theology tackles relevant themes with the Caribbean strongwind of its critical apparatus but also with the fresh breeze ofits lively text.

— Christian Century

This is the book I expected from a Cuban feminist revolutionary theologian. A liberating theology, ecumenical and located in a Cuban context, but without taking her eyes off the global community. Through Ofelia Ortega's essays, we learn about women's participation and leadership in churches, theology, and theological education in Cuba and the world. This is important because little is known about Cuba's theological richness. But the author, a theologian and activist pastor, does not write only for Cuba; in each chapter we find urgent feminist theological challenges to all women in Latin America and the Caribbean. Thank you, Ofelia, for your book!

— Elsa Tamez, Latin American Biblical University (Costa Rica), emerita

Since the triumph of the Cuban revolution in 1959, many groups have imagined the gradual extinction of religions on this extraordinary Island. However, on the contrary, the revolution provided a rethinking of different beliefs and especially a rethinking done by women from their own world. They opened the patriarchal heritage, especially in Christianity, to a feminist perspective showing the need for a theological revolution within the social revolution. This was particularly the concern of Ofélia Ortega's work and her merit, especially in this book. Through it, we can apprehend the different aspects of feminist theology in dialogue with the multiple religious expressions that proliferate in Cuba and with the hermeneutical advances developed in many other countries. I strongly recommend this book, which will help us better understand the challenges in the present century.

— Ivone Gebara, author of Longing for Running Water: Ecofeminism and Liberation

What Ofelia Ortega has written here is an historical and theological treasure from a woman who is totally immersed in her country and culture and has lived through the Cuban revolution throughout its various stages. In this work, Ofelia shares her lifelong experience—and she does so with a scholarly depth and a warmth that makes the reader feel as if she is with a good friend.

— Mary Judith Ress, ecofeminist theologian

This collection of essays was written by a feminist theologian, one of the leading personalities of the Protestant and Ecumenical communities in Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America. The careful reading of this book is an excellent introduction to a fundamental matter, a very important subject in theological education today.

— Marcos Antonio Ramos, former senior research associate of the Institute of Cuban Studies, University of Miami

This is a book of compassion, full of spirituality, Liberation Theology, contextual awareness and feminist inspiration. Here is a unique voice, filled with scholarly knowledge, global awareness, dedication to justice and the joy of life. Ofelia Ortega writes with commitment to community thinking and global sisterhood; she is deeply rooted in the lives of Caribbean women. The worldwide ecumenical thinking that shapes this book reflects the best of contemporary theology.

— Bärbel Wartenberg-Potter, feminist theologian and former director of the Women's Programme of the WCC