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Rebecca Todd Peters

Professor of Religious Studies, Director of Poverty and Social Justice, Elon University
Chapter Member: North Carolina SSN
Areas of Expertise:

About Rebecca Todd

Peters' research focuses on reproductive justice; poverty and economic justice; the ethics of economic globalization; and environmental justice. Overarching themes in Peters' work include feminist theology and critical feminist approaches to religion; social justice and social change; and solidarity ethics, whiteness and privilege. Peters is a scholar-activist and works locally with Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and co-chairs an initiative to start a Community Land Trust in Burlington, NC. Nationally she is serves on Planned Parenthood's Clergy Advocacy Board and works internationally with the World Council of Churches.

Contributions

In the News

Quoted by in "This Presbyterian Minister Wants Churches To Talk More About Abortion," The Washington Post, July 14, 2023.
Opinion: "Not All Christians Oppose Abortion," Rebecca Todd Peters, Newsweek, June 8, 2023.
Opinion: "Religious Women Have Abortions, Too. And Many Faiths Affirm Abortion Rights.," Rebecca Todd Peters (with Zahra Ayubi and Michal Raucher), Think, January 21, 2022.
Opinion: "What Facebook Unwittingly Reveals in Its Ban of LifeSiteNews for COVID Misinformation," Rebecca Todd Peters, Religion Dispatches, May 7, 2021.
Opinion: "Forgetting Lynching at Our Peril," Rebecca Todd Peters, Huffpost, December 6, 2017.
Opinion: "Biblical Marriage is Not What You Think," Rebecca Todd Peters, Huffpost, April 30, 2015.
Opinion: "The Ecumenical Movement and Me," Rebecca Todd Peters, The Christian Century, April 23, 2015.

Publications

"Trust Women: A Progressive Christian Argument for Reproductive Justice" (Beacon Press, 2018).

Outlines how the justification framework shaping American discussion of abortion is fatally flawed and argues that the framework of Reproductive Justice offers a more ethically robust opportunity for public dialogue. An RJ approach reframes abortion in the larger social context of the material needs of women/families in order to shift the public debate away from moral judgment of women’s behavior and toward supporting women.

"Encountering the Sacred: Feminist Reflections on Women's Lives" (with Grace Yia-Hei Kao) (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018).

Collects writing from feminist Christian scholars of theology and religion who use the tools of their trade to examine powerful personal life experiences and search for new and empowering ways of understanding the power of the sacred as they have experienced it. These first person narratives invite readers to do feminist theology together with the authors by responding to the text and asking questions about their own faith and life.

"Solidarity Ethics: Transformation in a Globalized World" (Fortress Press, 2014).

Engages first-world Christians (and others) who struggle to find faithful ways to live in the midst of radical inequality. Solidarity ethics challenges people to examine their positions of privilege and to build relationships of solidarity across lines of difference with the explicit or implicit intention of working together for social change.

"To Do Justice: A Guide for Progressive Christians" (with Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty) (Westminster John Knox Press, 2008).

Analyzes a contemporary problem from social, biblical, and theological perspectives before providing directions for public policy. These engaged ethicists from across the mainline denominations provide concrete examples of how progressive-minded Christians can work for justice in response to these moral dilemmas.

"Justice in a Global Economy: Strategies for Home, Community, World" (with Pamela K. Brubaker and Laura A. Stivers) (Westminster John Knox Press, 2006).

Guides its readers through many of today's complex societal issues, including land use, immigration, corporate accountability, and environmental and economic justice. Beginning with a basic introduction to the impact of economic globalization, the book provides both critical assessments of the current political-economic structures and examples of people and communities who are actively working to transform society.

"In Search of the Good Life: The Ethics of Globalization" (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2003).

Outlines four theories of globalization - neoliberal, development, earthist and post-colonial - and examines the vision for the good life reflected in each these ideologies. Peters’ argues that because economic globalization is human creation - we have the capacity (and the moral obligation) to create just economic models that care for people and the planet. Winner of the 2003 Trinity Book Prize.