The fall of Roe v. Wade eliminated legal access to abortion in 25 states (and counting) across the US., exacerbating existing public health crises related to reproduction and raising troubling questions related to religious liberty, bodily autonomy, and the human rights of pregnant people. Christian activists and leaders have been the driving force behind the current rush to criminalize abortion, often using religion as a weapon in the debate. In this course, we will examine how Christianity has been used in public debates about abortion, reframe the issue as a question of reproductive justice, and explore the church’s role in changing the public narrative about abortion in the country.
This course has reached capacity. If you are interested future EDS offerings on reprodutive justice, please join the waitlist and you'll be contacted first with new opportunities.
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You are also welcome and encouraged to attend the four EDS Colloquia the will accompany this course. Learn more towards the end of this page.
Course goals:
- examine the unnamed assumptions about abortion that shape public discourse
- interrogate the role of Christianity in public conversations about reproductive health, rights, and justice
- explore Reproductive Justice as a framework for theology and advocacy
- develop an action plan for engaging in public theology
Week one: Setting the Stage: The Problem of “Justifying” Abortion
The US is deeply shaped by an ideology of justification that believes abortion is immoral and therefore women must justify their desire to end a pregnancy. This week we will examine the Christian roots of the justification framework and see how it has distorted our public discourse.
Week two: Abortion is not the Problem
This week we will examine how abortion is being used in the culture wars to promote narrow, patriarchal Christian views about gender, race, and family and how the Religious Right has used abortion to mobilize for political power and social control.
Week three: Reproductive Justice Movement
In 1994, twelve Black women founded the Reproductive Justice movement as a way to move beyond the narrow focus of white feminists on abortion and the idea of “choice.” This week we will learn about the history of reproductive oppression and how reproductive justice offers a revolutionary new frame for thinking more broadly about the range of reproductive issues that people face.
Week four: Reproductive Justice and the Bible
From the binary of virgin/whore to the caricature of Jezebel, patriarchal and misogynist interpretations of scripture have shaped narrow roles for women that are gendered and raced. This week we will look at how scriptural traditions about women shape cultural expectations about sexuality, mothering, and abortion.
Week five: Reproductive Justice and Christian Ethics
This week will explore how a Christian ethic of reproductive justice calls us to think about abortion; the Black maternal mortality crisis; the criminalization of miscarriage; universal, free contraception access; medically accurate sex education; and the needs of mothers and families experiencing poverty.
Week six: Reproductive Justice and Congregations
Reproductive Justice offers a new moral framework that includes abortion, but positions it among a range of intersectional justice issues related to reproductive health, rights, and justice. In this session, we will examine how expanding our focus from abortion to reproductive justice offers congregations multiple pathways for public advocacy and engaging in positive social change.
Course requirements:
- Weekly participation in a two-hour zoom course
- Weekly attendance in one-hour zoom webinar
- Read 20-40 pages a week
- Write a weekly response to the reading
- Complete a public project related to Christianity and reproductive justice (ie – LTE, op-ed, sermon, prayer, liturgy)
Schedule:
February 4 - March 11, 2025; Tuesdays 6-8pm ET
The course will be capped at 25 students.
Cost structure:
Three tiers, pay what you can: $300, $150, $75. Financial aid is available - inquire by emailing edsinfo@eds.edu
Colloquia:
Not able to commit to a full course but still interested in learning more at the intersection of Christian theology and reproductive justice? The course will also include four EDS Colloquiums, dynamic, virtual hubs where the public are invited to witness and participate in theological discussions with renowned experts. Learn more about the colloquia below:
- Feb. 13 @ 3pm ET: White Christian Nationalism and Abortion with the Rev. Carter Heyward
- Feb. 20 @ 3pm ET: Reproductive and Sexual Justice with Dr. Toni Bond
- Feb. 27 @ 3pm ET: Reproductive Justice and the Bible with Dr. Angela Parker
- Mar. 6 @ 3pm ET: Reproductive Justice and Christian Community with the Rev. Dr. Keunjoo Christine Pae
About the Instructor:
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Rev. Dr. Rebecca Todd Peters is Professor of Religious Studies and Founding Director of the Poverty and Social Justice Program at Elon University. Her work as a feminist social ethicist is focused on globalization, economic, environmental, and reproductive justice. She is the author or editor of nine books and more than twenty-five peer-reviewed publications. Her most recent book is Trust Women: A Progressive Christian Argument for Reproductive Justice (Beacon Press, 2018). She is the President-elect of the Society of Christian Ethics, a clinic escort, a founding member of SACReD (Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity), and serves on PPFA’s Clergy Advocacy Board.