Year of Graduation

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Major

Gender & Women’s Studies

Directing Professor

Dr. LeeRay Costa

Abstract

The objective of this thesis is to recognize the critical work being done by the women in two Sister-led organizations, Talitha Kum, and Network. Throughout this thesis, I make note of how the actions of these groups of nuns align with several values attributed to spiritual activism. Simultaneously, I discuss the complications that arise from doing social justice work within the confines of an institution that has perpetuated settler colonialism and white supremacy. My analysis is grounded in three theoretical frameworks; spiritual activist theory as articulated by Gloria Anzaldúa, Indigenous Feminism(s), and Womanism. In reference to the nuns' status as both activists and committed Catholics, I explicitly call upon Anzaldúa’s theories of Nepantla, Nepantleras, and Nos/Otras ideology to argue that multiple truths can exist at once.

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