Rosemary Radford Ruether, a pioneering feminist and liberation theologian, died at 85 on 21 May 2022.
Rosemary Radford Ruether was a feminist researcher and Catholic theologian from the United States. She was known for her significant contributions to feminist theology.
Radford Ruether was one of the most celebrated Christian feminist theologians known for her publications relating to feminist, ecofeminist theology, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and antisemitism.
The 85-year-old Ruether supported women’s ordination, a Catholic religious movement that affirms women’s ability to serve as priests despite government opposition.
RIP: Rosemary Radford Ruether Death Cause & Obituary
The obituary post on Twitter does not suggest the death cause of Rosemary Rodford Ruether. The unfortunate news was reported early this morning by NCRonlie news.
On Sunday, Ruether’s death was announced by her long-time friend, Theologian Mary Hunt. Since the news broke out, there have been many tribute posts by her well-wishers.
Hunt stated, “Dr. Ruether was a scholar activist par excellence in an email release. She was respected and beloved by colleagues, students, and collaborators around the world.”
“Her academic and personal legacy are rich beyond imagining.” she added, ” The scope and depth of her work, and the witness of her life as an eminist justice-seeker, will shine forever with a luster that only time will enhance.”
American Theologian Rosemary Rodford Ruether Dies At 85
On Saturday, Dr. Rosemary Rodford Ruether, a pioneering Catholic feminist, passed away. However, her legacy as a theologian and a justice seeker will forever live on.
Rodford Ruether was outspoken in her support for women’s ordination and the Palestinian state. She published 36 books and hundreds of articles, including the ecofeminist primer Gaia and God (1992) and systematic Sexism and Gold Talk (1983).
Despite her radicalism, Ruether remained a Catholic, along with other religious militants. Her first book, The Church Against Itself (1967), critiques the church’s teaching and beliefs on sexuality and reproduction.
Author Rosemary inspired thousands of students in more than 50 years of her teaching. She initially taught at historically black Howard University. Later, she served at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary as the Georgia Harkness Professor of Applied Theology.
Then, Rosemary Ruether also taught at Harvard Divinity School, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Sir George Williams University in Montreal as a visiting lecturer.
Explore Rosemary Rodford Ruether Family Details
Talking about Rosemary Rodford Ruether’s family, she was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on 2 November 1936 to a Roman Catholic mother and an Episcopalian father.
Rosemary Rodford described her childhood as free-thinking and humanistic rather than authoritarian. Rosemary’s dad passed away when she was 12, and she relocated with her mother to California shortly after.
Rosemary attended numerous Catholic schools run by the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. They provided her with a solid feminist and activist foundation that impacted her later work in conjunction with her mother’s social group.