12 Female Theologians You Should Know About

Here is a list of twelve (including five Australian) female theologians (in alphabetical order) you should know about, a little about them and a link to their site / work. Happy browsing! Christina Cleveland, is a social psychologist, public theologian, author and professor. She is an Associate Professor of the Practice of Organizational Studies at Duke University’s Divinity School and the author of Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart and is finishing her second book which examines inequality and offers a practical theology of privilege. Read more here

Lynn Cohick is Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College. Her publications include Philippians in the Story of God Commentary (Zondervan, 2013); Ephesians in New Covenant Commentary (Cascade Books, 2010); Women in the World of the Earliest Christians (Baker Academic, 2009) and a co-authored book with Gary M. Burge, and Gene L. Green The New Testament in Antiquity (Zondervan, 2009). Read more here

Carolyn Custis James (BA in Sociology, MA in Biblical Studies) is an award winning author (Maelstrom. 2015, Half the Church. 2014) who thinks deeply about what it means to be a female follower of Jesus in a postmodern world. As a cancer survivor, she is grateful to be alive and determined to address the issues that matter most. Carolyn is an adjunct faculty member at Biblical Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. Read more here

Jill Firth is on faculty at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia, where she lectures in Hebrew and Old Testament. She earned her BA from the University of Western Australia, MA in Spiritual Direction from the Melbourne College of Divinity, and MDiv and PhD from the Australian College of Theology. She is also a Canon of St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne. Read more here

Paula Gooder works as the Director for Mission Learning and Development in the Birmingham Diocese (Church of England) and is a full time Theologian in Residence at the Bible Society. She is the author of many books, and co-editor of Women and Men in Scripture and the Church: A guide to the key issues. Read more here

Jacqui Grey PhD , BTH (Hons) , BTH , BA is associate professor of Biblical Studies, specialising in hermenutics and Old Testament studies. Her publications include Them, Us and Me: How the Old Testament Speaks to People Today, Raising Women Leaders, and Three's A Crowd: Pentecostalism, Hermeneutics and the Old Testament as well as various articles and book chapters. Jacqui speaks regularly at local and international events and has appeared on various national TV and radio programs in Australia, including the ABC TV's Q&A program. She is currently the President (2017) of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, and is part of the steering committee for Biblical Ethics in the Society of Biblical Literature. Read more here

Karina Kreminski has worked in the fields of English teaching, Journalism and has also been a Minister in the Church. She currently teaches at Morling College in Sydney and also writes and blogs about spirituality, mission, and theology. Karina has led a church and also been on various denominational boards and vision committees. She loves mentoring young women for leadership and speaks regularly at churches and conferences on neighbourhood and community mission and activism. She is the facilitator of The Happiness Lab at the Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre, and is involved in a storytelling project called Surry Hills & Valleys with locals in Surry Hills, an inner city village in Sydney. Read more here

Margaret Mowczko lives on the Central Coast of NSW. She a theology degree and has completed a MA in early Christian and Jewish studies through Macquarie University. Marg manages to convey complex ideas in a way that the everyday person can understand. Read more here

Amy Orr-Ewing is EMEA Director for RZIM, and Director of Programmes for the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. She gained a first class degree in Theology at Christ Church, Oxford University, before receiving a Master’s in Theology from King’s College London. She is currently working on her Doctoral Thesis at Oxford University looking at the work of Dorothy L Sayers. Amy is a highly sought after speaker and is the author of numerous books. Read more here

Lucy Peppiatt has bachelor's degrees in both English and Theology. She completed her MA in Systematic Theology at King’s College, London, and her PhD through the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Lucy’s research interests are Christ and the Spirit, Charismatic theology, discipleship, and 1 Corinthians. She and her husband, Nick Crawley, lead Crossnet Anglican Church in Bristol. Read more here

Tanya Riches is a researcher at The Centre for Disability Studies, an affiliate of The University of Sydney. Her research interest is in the anthropology of religion, and international development. After an MPhil at the Australian Catholic University on Hillsong Church, she recently completed her Ph.D. at Fuller Theological Seminary investigating intersections between Pentecostal Christianity and The Dreaming and the impact of faith communities in reversing "The Gap." She lectures in ethnomusicology at Excelsia College Sydney and theological anthropology at Hillsong College. She has honourary status at the Cadbury Centre at the University of Birmingham and also AlphaCrucis College, Sydney. Read more here

Cynthia Long Westfall PhD, is assistant professor of New Testament at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario. She is the author of Discourse Analysis of the Letter to the Hebrews: The Relationship Between Form and Meaning (T. & T. Clark, 2006), and Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle's Vision for Men and Women in Christ (Baker Academic, 2016) and has been part of an urban mission to the inner city in Denver for more than twenty years. For the last five years, she has also been involved in urban ministry in the Greater Toronto area. Cynthia maintains a special interest in Bible translation and serves as a member of the editorial board for the Common English Bible. Read more here