Atoning Shame?

‘Wrongdoing does not remain isolated in time’ (Radzik, 2009: 4). In February 2013 the McAleese Report confirmed that more than 11,000 women and girls were incarcerated in Ireland’s Magdalen laundries between 1922 and 1996. These women were arguably the scapegoats of Ireland’s national shame as it st...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Clough, Miryam (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage 2014
In: Feminist theology
Year: 2014, Volume: 23, Issue: 1, Pages: 6-17
Further subjects:B Magdalen laundries
B Atonement
B Shame
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Parallel Edition:Electronic
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Summary:‘Wrongdoing does not remain isolated in time’ (Radzik, 2009: 4). In February 2013 the McAleese Report confirmed that more than 11,000 women and girls were incarcerated in Ireland’s Magdalen laundries between 1922 and 1996. These women were arguably the scapegoats of Ireland’s national shame as it struggled to develop its identity as a morally pure state following independence, of familial shame as communities fought to hide abuse and illegitimacy, and of male shame, as men (lay and clerical) sought to have their cake and eat it. What does ‘atonement’ – a concept that embodies connection and integration (at-one-ment) mean in the context of shame – a state that signifies rupture, separation and isolation? This paper will explore the role of shame in the dis-integration of relationships and lives and ask whether the Christian concept of atonement can be utilized to put this right. In a moral climate where past abuses in church-run (as well as secular) institutions are increasingly coming to light, what value does atonement have in the way we respond to the on-going reverberations of shaming and shameful wrongdoing?
ISSN:1745-5189
Contains:Enthalten in: Feminist theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0966735014542374