A Feminist Conception of Self-Sacrifice : The Ethics of Self-Sacrificial Love in Light of Feminist Critique

Sammanfattning

Self-sacrifice has become an ethical ideal in Christianity, often with reference to the sacrifice of Jesus and to Christian conceptions of love as being incompatible with self-love. This has garnered criticism from feminist theologians who have argued that the self-sacrificial ideal contributes to self-abnegation, that is, an underdeveloped sense of self as well as engendering passivity towards one’s identity and oppression. This thesis aims to find resources for countering these critiques and developing an understanding of self-sacrificial love that does not contribute to the subordination of women. This was done through analysing Anna Mercedes’s Power for: Feminism and Christ’s Self-Giving and Darlene Fozard Weaver’s Self Love and Christian Ethics, guided by the research questions: (1) What resources does the material have for addressing feminist concerns about passivity and self-abnegation and what are their limitations? and (2) how can the Christian call to self-sacrificial love be understood without it further contributing to the subordination of women? In relation to the first question, I conclude that both Mercedes and Weaver have resources for addressing the feminist critiques but that they, for different reasons, have limitations if used to develop a feminist understanding of self-sacrifice. Mercedes’s Christology and view of God help decentre suffering in self-giving or self-sacrifice and her understanding of kenosis allows for desire without turning selfish. Since her focus is on systematic theology, I argue, that she cannot adequately account for a moral understanding of self-sacrifice capable of addressing the feminist critiques. Weaver, on the other hand, focuses explicitly on ethics and morality and, I believe, her understanding of the subject as a coherent moral agent is useful in constructing a view of self-sacrifice. However, I argue that her understanding of self-sacrifice, as almost solely concerning surrendering oneself to God, is too limited. Answering my second research question I propose a shift in focus from sacrifice itself towards becoming a person capable of self-sacrifice, based mainly on Mercedes’s Christology and kenosis as well as Weaver’s coherent self, embodied integrity, and her account of the relation between moral action and self-understanding. I note, however, that this account cannot be used to critique underlying structural injustices as it focuses on individuals and interpersonal relations.