Rebecca Todd Peters is a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

social

ethicist An ethicist is one whose judgment on ethics and ethical codes has come to be trusted by a specific community, and (importantly) is expressed in some way that makes it possible for others to mimic or approximate that judgment. Following the advice of ...

who serves as a professor of Religious Studies at

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, Elon is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or professional doctorate d ...

. Peters' scholarship focuses on questions related to

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

, the

environmental crisis An ecological or environmental crises occurs when changes to the environment of a species or population destabilizes its continued survival. Some of the important causes include: * Degradation of an abiotic ecological factor (for example, increa ...

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

and women's access to reproductive health care. Peters received her B.A. from

Rhodes College Rhodes College is a private liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee. Historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges a ...

in Art and English and her M.Div. and Ph.D. in Christian Social Ethics from Union Theological Seminary in New York. She was also ordained as a

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...

minister and worked in the PCUSA national office of Women's Ministries for six years. Peters is a past President of the

American Academy of Religion The American Academy of Religion (AAR) is the world's largest association of scholarly method, scholars in the List of academic disciplines, field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association, serving as a profes ...

, Southeast Region and was Elon University's 2011–12 Distinguished Scholar. She also served as the Founding Director of the Poverty and Social Justice program at Elon. Her books include: *''In Search of the Good Life: The Ethics of Globalization'' (Continuum, 2004), which won the 2003 Trinity Book Prize. *''Justice in a Global Economy: Strategies for Home, Community and World'' (Westminster/John Knox, 2006) *''To Do Justice: A Guide for Progressive Christians'' (Westminster/John Knox, 2008) *''Solidarity Ethics: Transformation in a Globalized World'' (Fortress Press, 2014) *''Trust Women: A Progressive Christian Argument for Reproductive Justice'' (Beacon Press, 2018)

Dominican University of California Dominican University of California is a private university in San Rafael, California. It was founded in 1890 as Dominican College by the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael. It is one of the oldest universities in California. Dominican is accredite ...

Professor Laura Stivers has stated that in her book ''Solidarity Ethics'', Peters "lays the groundwork... for how we can come together in solidarity across lines of difference to create movements for justice and structural change." Peters' book ''Trust Women'' has been described as offering "a Christian argument for abortion" and as "shifting the conversation bout abortionto reproductive justice."

Cecile Richards Cecile Richards (born July 15, 1957) is an American activist who served as the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund from 2006 to 2018. In 2010, Richards was elected to the ...

, president of the

Planned Parenthood Federation of America The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reven ...

and president of the

Planned Parenthood Action Fund The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reven ...

has said: “In ''Trust Women'', Rebecca Todd Peters lays bare the real question underlying the abortion debate: whether or not women can be trusted to make their own decisions. She is compassionate and clear-eyed in constructing her faith-based case for abortion, and her voice cuts through the noise to affirm what we at Planned Parenthood have long believed: the best arbiter of a woman’s reproductive destiny is herself.” Peters has been widely noted for her framing of abortion as "a moral good." Peters also writes about current events, theology, justice and social change on her blog, “To Do Justice," on the

Patheos Patheos is a non-denominational, non-partisan online media company providing information and commentary from various religious and nonreligious perspectives. Upon its launch in May 2009, the website was primarily geared toward learning about re ...

website, and her op-eds have been printed in a variety of newspapers on topics including

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

and

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...

References

External links

Elon University Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Rebecca Todd American non-fiction writers Living people Elon University faculty Christian ethicists American ethicists 21st-century Protestant theologians Women Christian theologians Presbyterian Church (USA) teaching elders American Calvinist and Reformed theologians Union Theological Seminary (New York City) alumni Year of birth missing (living people)