
Resisting Orders
Catholic Sisters Contest Their Church
McGill-Queen's University Press
Published on 29. April 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
318 pages
978-0-2280-2370-8 (ISBN)
Description
Catholic religious sisters in Canada occupy a complicated position as they endeavour to live out their vocations while simultaneously representing and confronting a patriarchal and colonial institution that has caused harm. For some this navigation has been painful; for others it has been impossible.
Resisting Orders brings to light these women's untold stories of resistance against religious doctrine and societal norms that contradict their feminist and social justice convictions. Drawing on in-depth interviews with thirty-two Catholic sisters and former sisters who entered the church between 1937 and 1985, the authors reveal the ways these women have understood and strategically addressed the contradictions they faced. Resisting Orders rejects stereotypes of women religious as compliant, subservient, and rigid in their thinking, recounting instead their outspokenness and action when they challenged the church on issues including the criminalization of women's ordination, the clerical abuse of children, reproductive injustice, and the rejection of 2SLGBTQI+ people. The authors attend to the diversity of women religious as a group, making space for their evolving, unexpected, varied perspectives and lived experiences.
Resisting Orders untangles the power and resistance of women religious, asking what it means to agitate for change from within at a time of reckoning for the Roman Catholic Church.
Resisting Orders brings to light these women's untold stories of resistance against religious doctrine and societal norms that contradict their feminist and social justice convictions. Drawing on in-depth interviews with thirty-two Catholic sisters and former sisters who entered the church between 1937 and 1985, the authors reveal the ways these women have understood and strategically addressed the contradictions they faced. Resisting Orders rejects stereotypes of women religious as compliant, subservient, and rigid in their thinking, recounting instead their outspokenness and action when they challenged the church on issues including the criminalization of women's ordination, the clerical abuse of children, reproductive injustice, and the rejection of 2SLGBTQI+ people. The authors attend to the diversity of women religious as a group, making space for their evolving, unexpected, varied perspectives and lived experiences.
Resisting Orders untangles the power and resistance of women religious, asking what it means to agitate for change from within at a time of reckoning for the Roman Catholic Church.
Reviews / Votes
"This work is a novel and exceptional study of voices notably lacking in academia: religious women sharing their stories in their own words and from their own perspectives." Margaret McGuinness, La Salle University"Resisting Orders is the gold standard in feminist research on nuns. The authors' women-centred methodology and remarkable material are unprecedented." Heidi MacDonald, University of New Brunswick
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Montreal
Canada
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
2 tables
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
458 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-2280-2370-8 (9780228023708)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Christine Gervais | Amanda Watson | Shanisse Kleuskens
Resisting Orders
Catholic Sisters Contest Their Church
E-Book
05/2025
1st Edition
McGill-Queen's University Press
€59.99
Available for download

Christine Gervais | Amanda Watson | Shanisse Kleuskens
Resisting Orders
Catholic Sisters Contest Their Church
E-Book
05/2025
1st Edition
McGill-Queen's University Press
€59.99
Available for download
Persons
Christine Gervais is associate professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa.
Amanda Watson is assistant professor of sociology at Simon Fraser University.
Shanisse Kleuskens is a civil servant residing in Ottawa.
Amanda Watson is assistant professor of sociology at Simon Fraser University.
Shanisse Kleuskens is a civil servant residing in Ottawa.