Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to American Catholicism
- Cambridge Companions to Religion
- The Cambridge Companion to American Catholicism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Historical Overview
- Part II Catholic Life and Culture
- 4 Catholic Worship
- 5 Catholic Intellectual Life
- 6 Catholic Education
- 7 Social Welfare and Social Reform
- 8 Women Religious
- 9 Catholics and Politics
- 10 Arts and Culture
- 11 Anti-Catholicism in the United States
- 12 Gender and Sexuality
- 13 American Catholics in a Global Context
- Part III The Many Faces of Catholicism
- Part IV Conclusion
- Index
- Series page
- References
8 - Women Religious
from Part II - Catholic Life and Culture
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 May 2021
- The Cambridge Companion to American Catholicism
- Cambridge Companions to Religion
- The Cambridge Companion to American Catholicism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Historical Overview
- Part II Catholic Life and Culture
- 4 Catholic Worship
- 5 Catholic Intellectual Life
- 6 Catholic Education
- 7 Social Welfare and Social Reform
- 8 Women Religious
- 9 Catholics and Politics
- 10 Arts and Culture
- 11 Anti-Catholicism in the United States
- 12 Gender and Sexuality
- 13 American Catholics in a Global Context
- Part III The Many Faces of Catholicism
- Part IV Conclusion
- Index
- Series page
- References
Summary
In 1966, Catholic philosopher Michael Novak published a story on the “New Nuns” in the popular American magazine, The Saturday Evening Post, that portrayed a new image of Catholic sisterhood. The new fresh face of American sisters, or Catholic women religious, sported a modified habit that altered the veil to expose a sister’s hair (her bangs) and a shortened skirt that may have revealed that nuns did have legs, but also allowed for freer movement.1 Sisters appeared to be on the move by the mid-1960s, leaving behind traditional ministries such as parish schools. This first modification of religious life was followed by another, as many congregations shed their religious habits for secular dress by the 1970s.
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- Information
- The Cambridge Companion to American Catholicism , pp. 141 - 158Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021