Joan M. Martin
American Protestant feminist theologian
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Joan M. Martin is a Protestant feminist theologian. Martin has been politically active with a number of different feminist causes and is notable for her 1978 congressional testimony on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment.[1]
Joan M. Martin | |
|---|---|
| Born | New York, US |
| Ecclesiastical career | |
| Religion | Christianity (Presbyterian) |
Congregations served | Christian Union Church, North Truro, Massachusetts |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Theology |
Sub-discipline | Christian ethics |
School or tradition | Christian feminism |
| Institutions | Episcopal Divinity School |
Equal Rights Amendment
Martin was a member of the Religious Committee for the ERA. Numerous Catholic nuns also belonged to this organization including Sister Mary Luke Tobin.[2] Many women from this organization worked with the National Coalition of American Nuns and National Assembly of Women Religious.[2] The Religious Committee for the ERA was also known as the National Religious Committee for the ERA and worked alongside People of Faith for ERA.[3]
Martin was part of a group of faith-based feminists, including Sonia Johnson from Mormons for ERA, who testified in Congress in support of the ERA in August 1978.[1] Johnson noted in her book, From Housewife to Heretic, Martin was an impressive speaker who "...had immense dignity and presence, and was splendid under interrogation. Also intimidating, to me."[4]
In Martin's testimony, she stated, "To live out our faith and freedom, we must exercise it as whole persons; otherwise it has no meaning. In the context of the ERA ratification process, failure to pass the amendment hinders women from the exercise of our civil rights."[1]
Publications
- Martin, Joan M. (2000). More Than Chains and Toil: A Christian Work Ethic of Enslaved Women. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0-664-25800-X.[5]
