Women and Faith: Catholic Religious Life in Italy from Late Antiquity to the Present (review)

Abstract

The sixteen essays in this volume span the period from the fourth to the twentieth century and focus on the relationship of women with the Catholic Church, its institutions and teachings. Although the authors, most of whom are Italian, primarily deal with Italy, they cast their nets widely. The history of women in one part of Europe thus becomes paradigmatic for more general problems implicit in the tensions between the male hierarchy and specifically female devotions and imagery. Collectively, the essays pose several central questions: did the Catholic Church throughout its history offer women possibilities of participating in its culture? Further, how much room existed for the development of specifically female forms of spirituality in a religion with a male divinity? What was the meaning of the Pauline vision of spiritual equality among all Christians?