The Ecumenical Feminist: Arlene Anderson Swidler (1929–2008)

This essay introduces Arlene Anderson Swidler (1929–2008), a passionate Catholic feminist writer, lecturer, activist, and scholar of religion. As a part of the post-Vatican II wave, her writings on women in the Catholic Church began to appear as early as 1966. Although her feminist ideas are rooted in Catholicism, they later related to other religions as well. Thus, her activity can be understood as “ecumenical feminism.”