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Religious Committee for the ERA

{{Infobox group

| name = Religious Committee for the ERA

| type = Women's Rights Organization

| purpose = Activist group for the Equal Rights Amendment

| key_people = Sister Marjorie Tuite, Sister Mary Luke Tobin

}}

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).{{Cite journal |last=Brock |first=Laura E. |date=2013 |title=Religion, Sex & Politics: The Story of the Equal Rights Amendment in Florida |url=https://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu:183674/datastream/PDF/view |journal= |pages=149}}

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.{{Cite news |date=September 18, 1976 |title=Religious Groups Plan ERA Drive |work=Journal and Courier}} The organization included Catholics, Jewish supporters, Quakers, 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.{{Cite news |date=July 10, 1982 |title=Churchgoers Vow to Fight for Rights |work=The Sentinel}} They were also known as Renew.{{Cite web |title=Religion in America;NEWLN:Churches vow continued fight for equal rights for women |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/07/16/Religion-in-AmericaNEWLNChurches-vow-continued-fight-for-equal-rights-for-women/1268395640000/ |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=UPI |language=en}}

Timeline of political activity

  • 1978: People of Faith for ERA: Days of Prayer and Action
  • 1980: Inter-religious Lobby Day{{Cite news |date=May 1, 1980 |title=Panel OK's ERA Measure |work=The Dispatch}}
  • 1982: National Prayer Vigil in Washington, D.C.{{Cite news |date=April 19, 1982 |title=Prayer Vigil for ERA Slated |work=Southern Illinoisian}}
  • 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{{Cite news |date=January 8, 1977 |title=Church Women Rallying in Push for ERA Passage |work=The Orlando Sentinel}}
  • Marian Coger
  • Mrs. C.L. Dillard
  • Theodore Hesburgh
  • Joan M. Martin
  • Abigail McCarthy{{Cite web |title=El periodico, 1970 Jul.-Nov. |url=http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00481.xml |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=www2.mnhs.org}}
  • Rev. Delores Moss{{Cite news |last=Riordan |first=Patrick |date=January 21, 1982 |title=Despite Dim Passage Prognosis, ERA Still Squeezing Out Sparks |work=The Miami Herald}}
  • Eleanor R. Schwartz{{Cite news |date=1978-12-20 |title=Letters |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/20/archives/letters-era-and-religion-we-have-no-dilemmas-what-the-cia.html |access-date=2022-10-03 |issn=0362-4331}}
  • Natalie Tackett{{Cite web |title=Natalie Tackett Papers |url=https://files.shsmo.org/manuscripts/columbia/C4444.pdf}}
  • Sister Mary Luke Tobin{{Cite news |date=September 19, 1975 |title=ERA Gets Support from 31 Religious Groups |work=Rocky Mount Telegram}}
  • Sister Marjorie Tuite
  • Margaret Wilkins{{Cite news |date=March 21, 1982 |title=Local Residents, Clergymen to Show ERA Support with Vigil |work=Southtown Star}}

Affiliated organizations

References

Category:Catholic feminists

Category:Catholic feminism

Category:Jewish feminism in the United States

Category:Women's rights organizations based in the United States

Category:Equal Rights Amendment organizations