Religious Committee for the ERA was an American women's rights organization active in the late 1970s and early 1980s that advocated for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).

Overview

The Religious Committee for the ERA was an organization of faith based feminists who planned a series of events to raise awareness of the need for an Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The organization had eight founders. The organization included Catholics, Jewish supporters,

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

, Presbyterians and many others from a wide variety of faith traditions. After the ERA failed to pass in June 1982, the organization changed its name to Religious Network for Equality of Women. They were also known as Renew.

Timeline of political activity

* 1978: People of Faith for ERA: Days of Prayer and Action * 1980: Inter-religious Lobby Day * 1982: National Prayer Vigil in Washington, D.C. * 1982: On June 30, members of The Religious Committee for the ERA burned copies of laws that discriminated against women in front of the National archives.

Members

* Louise Bowman * Marian Coger * Mrs. C.L. Dillard *

Theodore Hesburgh Theodore Martin Hesburgh, CSC (May 25, 1917 – February 26, 2015) was a native of Syracuse, New York, who became an ordained priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross and is best known for his service as the president of the University of No ...

* Joan M. Martin *

Abigail McCarthy Abigail Quigley McCarthy (April 16, 1915 – February 1, 2001) was an American academic and writer, and the wife of politician and presidential contender Eugene McCarthy. She predeceased her estranged husband by almost five years. Early life ...

* Rev. Delores Moss * Eleanor R. Schwartz * Natalie Tackett * Sister Mary Luke Tobin * Sister Marjorie Tuite * Margaret Wilkins

Affiliated organizations

* American Baptist Women * Catholics Act for ERA *

Church Women United Church Women United (CWU) is a national ecumenical Christian women's movement representing Protestant, Roman Catholic, Orthodox and other Christian women. Founded in 1941, as the United Council of Church Women, this organization has more than 1 ...

* Las Hermanas *

Leadership Conference of Women Religious The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) is one of two associations of the leaders of congregations of Catholic women religious in the United States (the other being the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious). LCWR includes ov ...

* National Assembly of Women Religious *

National Coalition of American Nuns The National Coalition of American Nuns (NCAN) was founded in 1969 by Margaret Traxler and Audrey Kopp. The organization is known for its advocacy for women's rights, support for the Equal Rights Amendment, opposition to the Catholic Church hiera ...

Sisters of Loretto The Sisters of Loretto or the Loretto Community is a Catholic religious institute that strives "to bring the healing Spirit of God into our world." Founded in the United States in 1812 and based in the rural community of Nerinx, Kentucky, the ...

{{Cite web , last=Williams , first=Virginia , date=1995 , title=LORETTO AND THE WOMEN’S MOVEMENT: From "Sister" to sister , url=https://www.lorettocommunity.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/women.movement.pdf * St. Joan's International Alliance

References

Catholic feminists Catholic feminism Jewish feminism Women's rights organizations Equal Rights Amendment organizations