Significance of Feminist Epistemology in Christian Religious Education: Knowledge as a Learning Experience Calls for Community as a Producer of Knowledge

Abstract

This paper introduces an attempt of feminist theorists to make sense of traditional philosophers from a contemporary standpoint. What comes about as a result of this effort is the construction of feminist epistemology. Consequently, another conversation must follow in which a conversation with post-modern philosophers more clearly delineates our search of knowledge that helps us understand God, the world and ourselves. Using our everyday life experiences as the source of valuable knowledge requires a relationship between a knowing subject(knower) and the object(known) while taking subjectivity seriously. This kind of knowledge also fully advocates objectivity with a socially situated standpoint. A dialogue between feminist theorists and post-modern philosophers reaches a consensus about the need for community to be a producer of knowledge, while at the same time, a particular individual in the community coexists as ‘knower’ and ‘known,’ and is encouraged to be an agent of knowledge. Finally, feminist epistemology brings together “strange”and “normal,” “the power” and “the powerless,” or “main”and “peripheral,” which will set an example of how to be together for the faith community.