ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to reflect upon the ways of accounting for hope which are to be found within some paradigms of modern western feminist theology. It explores some dimensions of the theological and philosophical problematic in which these accounts find themselves. In common with all modern ethics, feminist ethics have in different ways sought to provide a scheme of understanding our identity as human persons, our place in the overall order of things, and the ways in which the fulfilment of our humanity might come about. Modern feminist theology has found three ways of accounting for hope, which might both demonstrate the reasonable basis of women's faith, and inspire practices that enhance the human dignity and worth of women. The work of naturalistic feminists has been to revalue the difference that women are on their own terms, and thereby to challenge representations of women in the western tradition.
