Women's Marches as Spiritual Practices by Mary Hunt, Feminist Studies in Religion

http://www.fsrinc.org/blog/womens-marches-spiritual-practices/

"The roaring success of the Women’s March on Washington and the many related marches around the world signals a new spiritual vibrancy that supports action for social justice. As footsore marchers debrief, most people are singing the same song: huge numbers of diverse folks; overwhelming good will in sometimes crowded conditions; creative, constructive manifestations of progressive opinions; a deep sense of not being the only one who opposes the policies and practices of a presidential administration hell bent on American hegemony; and new resolve to bring about justice. The role of religion and spirituality in all of this is telling..."

"These marches were about far more than individual choices. They were about structural barriers to full participation that must be eradicated. They were about the world adults want to bequeath to their children and grandchildren, and the world those children will pass on to theirs. Quite simply, no one issue determines the future, but all condition what it will look like and who will survive to live it.

This approach to living with discomfort in order to move forward is not a sign of cheap relativism, but a hallmark of feminist spirituality. Without abandoning one’s beliefs, it is possible to pass over the rigid, narrow foci that have kept patriarchal ecumenical and interfaith efforts from succeeding. It is not a sign of rampant secularization, but evidence of reasonable and responsible religiosity; it is a sign of better forms of spirituality, which are expressed by embracing a shared vision of human flourishing and cosmic harmony..."