Susan Thistlethwaite on "Moral Mansplaining" citing Rosemary Radford Ruether and Mary E. Hunt

[Mary Hunt]

Begin forwarded message:

From: No Fear Religion and Politics from Susan’s Substack <susanthistle...@substack.com>

Subject: Moral Mansplaining

Date: April 19, 2026 at 6:46:11 PM EDT

To: mh...@hers.com

Reply-To: No Fear Religion and Politics from Susan’s Substack <reply+37xrt7&2mns5&&75d0617968395113a91cdd725b3caf6c...@mg1.substack.com>

	Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Moral Mansplaining The Pope, Vance and Trump NO FEAR RELIGION AND POLITICS APR 19   READ IN APP   I have to credit liberation theologian and co-director of the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual, Mary Hunt, for her use of the term “moral mansplaining.” She did so during an interview with Dr. Kwok Pui Lan on her “Kwok and Roll” Podcast.  “Mansplaining” as Mary Hunt so aptly used it, is a term that refers to a man condescendingly explaining something to someone, most often but not always a woman, assuming he knows more, regardless of her/his/their actual expertise. While the behavior is long-standing, the term was popularized following Rebecca Solnit’s 2008 essay, "Men Explain Things to Me", becoming a mainstream cultural term by 2010 and appearing in the dictionary by 2018. Susan’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribed The use of “moral” as a modifier for “mansplaining” was so well-chosen on Mary Hunt’s part to describe the pointed words being exchanged by Pope Leo, Trump and J.D. Vance.  Don’t get me wrong. I do think it is a good thing for Pope Leo to be making such strong statements against war as opposed to supporting it.  Here’s a list of his recent statements:  In his Palm Sunday address, Leo asserted that God does not listen to prayers from those initiating conflict, as their “hands are full of blood”. During a visit to Cameroon, he declared that the world is being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants” who spend heavily on war while ignoring needs like education. Leo strongly criticized the use of religious language to justify violence, stating, “Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain”. He has directly stated that God never sides with those who drop bombs, calling upon believers to stand against such actions. He labeled U.S. threats to wipe out Iranian civilization as “truly unacceptable”. Trump has then lobbed insults at the Pope (not repeated here) and JD Vance lectured the Pope on Just War theory, a staple of Catholic theology of war first crafted by Augustine of Hippo. Pope Leo, by the way, is a member of the Order of St. Augustine.  Moral reasoning, however, should not be “pontificating” by one man or one recently converted Catholic who doesn’t know much about it, apparently. Trump does no moral reasoning. Mary Hunt noted that before he was Pope Leo, Robert Francis Prevost. studied at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. If he had gone not that far up Lake Shore Drive to Garrett—Evangelical Theological Seminary, he could have studied with Rosemary Radford Ruether, pre-eminent Catholic feminist theologian.  Ruether’s Moral Reasoning is crucial for our times. Ruether argued that Western and Christian thought wrongly split reality into dualisms (mind/body, male/female, human/nature), where the first term dominates the second. Her moral reasoning sought to dismantle this “megamachine” of domination. She identified that structures of oppression—race, class, gender, and nature exploitation—are linked. Therefore, moral action must fight these interconnected systems simultaneously rather than focusing on a single issue. She criticized “God the Father” as a symbol that justifies patriarchy and urged a re-imaging of the divine to support equality and the flourishing of both women and the earth. She rejected rigid, abstract rules on abortion, advocating that moral decisions must take into account the concrete circumstances of women’s lives, affirming women’s moral agency. She linked the subordination of women with the abuse of nature, arguing for a sustainable, “Jubilee” ecological ethic that restores harmony to the earth rather than seeking infinite expansion. Imagine a world where moral reasoning meant following the precepts Rosemary Ruether laid out for so many years. If you are unfamiliar with her work, go to Beacon Press and start reading her over 30 books. It was a great joy in my life to have team-taught several times with Rosemary Ruether. She brought her students down to a battered women’s shelter in Chicago and I brought mine up from Hyde Park where we met by permission of the shelter’s director.  Our class title? “Violence Against Women.” I have witnessed various male theologians at academic meetings trying to “mansplain” theology to Ruether.  They did not get far.  Image Credit: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20180727-mansplaining-explained-in-one-chart Susan’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribed   SHARE     LIKE COMMENT RESTACK   © 2026 Susan Thistlethwaite 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104  Unsubscribe

[Mary Hunt]

NOTE: Susan’s original post contained a link to an earlier podcast. It has now been corrected Please use this link to get the right interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atyTGIl1JYs&t=42s.

Kwok Pui Lan and Susan Thistlethwaite are leading feminist theologians/ethicists who are using their platforms to do justice. Feminist liberation theology being a team sport, I’m happy to be on their team. Join our efforts. 

Mary E. Hunt

Mary E. Hunt, Ph.D.
Co-director
Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER)
8121 Georgia Ave. #310
Silver Spring, MD 20910-4933 USA
301 589-2509 | 301 589-3150 fax
mh...@hers.com 
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