Women, Earth, and Creator Spirit: Johnson's Ecofeminist Vision

Introduction to Johnson's Argument

In her book Women, Earth, and Creator Spirit, Elizabeth A. Johnson investigates the close connection between society's domination of women and humanity's domination of the earth. Johnson's central argument is that these two forms of exploitation share a common root: the belief that humanity is separate from, and superior to, nature, and that man is separate from, and superior to, woman. She further connects both forms of domination to the exclusion of the Creator Spirit — the third member of the Trinity — from the center of Christian thought and practice.

Environmental Destruction and Human Exploitation

Johnson begins her book with a thorough description of some of the many ways that humanity has exploited the earth. She notes that we continue to poison our water, air, and soil, thereby "making the planet unfit for life" (p. 5). She continues by observing that our industrial activities are destroying the earth, and that we are rapidly causing the extinction of "more than half the species created by God" (p. 7). This opening portrait of environmental degradation sets the stage for Johnson's broader theological and feminist argument.

The Marginalization of Women and the Earth

Johnson makes a convincing case that women have traditionally been marginalized both in greater society and within the church, and that the exploitation of women is linked to humanity's exploitation of the earth. She argues that this exploitative attitude is characterized by a belief in human separateness from and superiority over nature, as well as male separateness from and superiority over woman. To Johnson, the exploitation of the earth and the marginalization of women are inseparable phenomena, and both are linked to the ecofeminist insight that patriarchal structures harm both women and the natural world simultaneously.