In the Habit of Resistance: Radical Peace Activism and the Maryland Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, 1968–Present

Abstract

This article examines the radical peace activism of members of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (SNDN) during and after the Vietnam War. These women drew upon the spirit of their religious community to deploy a distinct philosophy of peace grounded in their identity as Catholic sisters. Understanding peace as intimately intertwined with their identities as Catholic women religious, these sisters used the all-woman spaces and networks of their religious order to sustain and support their individual work for peace, defending their activism against those who viewed their actions as outside the traditional roles of Catholic sisters. The Maryland Province of SNDN provides a fascinating entry point for understanding the peace activism of religious sisters within the broader context of Catholic peace organizing. After the end of the Vietnam War, many male Catholic activists shifted their focus to other forms of activism. However, the actions of many members of the Maryland Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur pushed the community to embrace peace activism as a central part of their mission, and thus committed the order to lifelong peace activism.