The Rumi Forum presented “Breaking Through the Stained Glass Ceiling: Women Religious Leaders in Their Own Words” with Maureen Fiedler, SL
“Breaking Through the Stained Glass Ceiling: Women Religious Leaders in Their Own Words”
Maureen Fiedler, Editor
Forward by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
In Breaking Through the Stained Glass Ceiling, Maureen Fiedler says that women are rising, as never before, to leadership in the world of religion – in multiple roles and in faith traditions across the board. Although women have not yet reached the “nirvana” of full gender equality, a cultural trend has been set.
The book features Maureen’s interviews with dozens of women from many faith traditions done for Interfaith Voices over the past seven years. They include denominational and organizational leaders, theologians and scripture scholars, leaders in the field of spirituality, social justice and peace, interfaith relations and religious media.
Maureen Fiedler, SL is the host of Interfaith Voices, a public radio show, heard on 71 radio stations in North America, including WAMU 88.5 FM in the Washington area. (Sunday afternoons, 4 p.m.). She has been involved in interfaith activities for more than three decades as an active participant in coalitions working for social justice, racial and gender equality, and peace. Her special interests lie at the intersection of theology and public policy. She is the editor of a new book (June, 2010) called Breaking Through the Stained Glass Ceiling: Women Religious Leaders in Their Own Words which highlights the growing leadership of women in the world of religion.
She is a Sister of Loretto, and holds a Ph.D. in Government from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
Moderator:
Melody Fox Ahmed joined Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs in June 2006 and serves as the Director of Programs and Operations. She directs overall Center management, student programs such as the Junior Year Abroad Network and Undergraduate Fellows, and interfaith outreach. Previously she worked at the Corporate Executive Board and with the Buxton Initiative, and has studied and worked in Spain, Mexico, and Brazil. She received her B.A. from Vanderbilt University and her M.A. in Global, International, and Comparative History from Georgetown University, where she focused on Latin America and the Muslim world, completing the thesis “Males, Turcos, and Terroristas: Luso Orientalism and Arab and Muslim Identity in Brazil.”