Earlier this term, a group of Sutton Sixth Form theologians and philosophers attended a GDST RS Symposium at Sydenham High School.
‘Is religious faith a tool of liberation or oppression for women across the world?’ This was the central question that Rachael Vaughan from Sydenham High asked a packed room of participants from Sydenham, Croydon, Sutton, Northwood, Norwich, Putney and partner schools.
As a family of girls’ schools, it is an apposite question to ask; it is all too easy to highlight that it is often men and male voices that have been granted positions in the canon of theological and philosophical thought – https://philosophynow.org/issues/164/Philosopher_Kings_-_and_Queens. This symposium gave GDST students and others a day to engage with a wider range of perspectives and to express and debate their own views.
The inspirational Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin sparked off the day. Born and raised in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Bishop Rose was the first black women to be appointed Bishop in the Church of England. She spoke powerfully of her call to ministry and the challenging questions she and others put to the Anglican church: why, she reflected, ‘are you not receiving the gifts of women?’
It was a moving story of ‘the trajectory of my faith’ which took her from Montego Bay, to acting as Chaplain to Elizabeth II and Bishop of Dover. There was a resounding summary of the power of faith at work in her life and a call to ‘not allow others or society to define you’. Students from across the Trust asked her a wide range of personal and thought-provoking questions about the role of women within religious institutions and Bishop Rose’s approach to hermeneutics.
Other talks included Abineash Barathan on the views of Simone de Beauvoir, with a recording of her own journey of faith. For Beauvoir, faith had little value in challenging gender stereotypes – ‘Gradually, I refined God so much he was no longer relevant to me.’ Justine Speck also presented the contrasting views of Daphne Hampson and Rosemary Radford Ruther. Finally, Andreas Emerson-Moering explored a Latin-American perspective on liberation theology.
A highlight was Rashna Thivakaran – Croydon High – presenting on her experience of faith as a Hindu; she spoke of the multifaceted portrayal of God as both male and female within Hindu traditions and practice.
In the final debate of the day, students debated the house’s view that ‘religion is good for women’. Ultimately, the motion was defeated. Yet the day resoundingly demonstrated the power of girls’ voices in the disciplines of philosophy and theology.
