Description
Few figures in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provoke such visceral responses as Sonia Johnson. Her unrelenting public support of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) made her the face of LDS feminism while her subsequent excommunication roiled the faith community.
Christine Talbot tells the story of Sonia's historic confrontation with the Church within the context of the faith's first large-scale engagement with the feminist movement. A typical if well-educated Latter-day Saints homemaker, Sonia was moved to action by the all-male LDS leadership's opposition to the ERA and a belief the Church should stay out of politics. Talbot uses the activist's experiences and criticisms to explore the ways Sonia's ideas and situation sparked critical questions about LDS thought, culture, and belief. She also illuminates how Sonia's excommunication shaped LDS feminism, the Church's antagonism to feminist critiques, and the Church itself in the years to come.
A revealing and long-overdue account, Sonia Johnson explores the life, work, and impact of the LDS feminist.
Author: Christine Talbot
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Published: 08/20/2024
Pages: 136
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.91w x 0.39d
ISBN13: 9780252088179
ISBN10: 0252088174
BISAC Categories:
- Religion | Christianity | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (
- Biography & Autobiography | Women
- Social Science | Feminism & Feminist Theory
About the Author
Christine Talbot is a professor in the Gender Studies Program at the University of Northern Colorado. She is the author of A Foreign Kingdom: Mormons and Polygamy in American Political Culture, 1852-1890.