Andrew Lawless published this interview at “Three Monkeys Online” where you can read the whole thing. Below is merely the first three (introductory) paragraphs:
“Censorship is not limited to totalitarian States. It can be a subtle thing, when disconcerting ideas are not banned, but, through various means, marginalised. Dr. Mary Condren’s groundbreaking work The Serpent and the Goddess, a study on women, religion and power in Celtic Ireland, was never placed on an index of banned books, and yet it remained until recently a very difficult book to get your hands on. As Condren describes in the introduction to the latest edition of the book [New Island Books 2002], in 1989 when The Serpent and the Goddess was first published, despite an enthusiastic public reception and encouraging sales, getting the book into shops proved difficult. Perhaps not surprising, given the scope of the book. While concerned with themes of a universal importance, in an Ireland to a large extent dominated by the twin ideologies of Nationalism and Catholicism, the book challenged a number of ‘sacred cows’. For example, Condren argues in the book, “surely, just as England had colonised the people of Ireland, we Irish women were, just as effectively, a people colonised by the patriarchal relations of Church and State?”[The Serpent and the Goddess – pg xviii].
“Condren, a former Carmelite nun, has degrees in theology, sociology, and social anthropology. A combination of studies which she says, in the introduction to her book, has “to this day left me unable to read any text without asking questions about power, sexuality, and economics”. Her study on women, religion and power was written against a backdrop of continuing violence in Northern Ireland. Violence that has ensued for centuries, centring over rival claims to territory, and the legitimacy of those who hold sacramental and state power. Condren’s analysis was brave and radical, breaking one of the strongest taboos around the conflict, a taboo enforced by all sides that demanded religion be treated as having a subsidiary role in the conflict. “We take it for granted that the Fisherman of Nazareth has long since ceased to bear much relationship to historical Christianity. Can it be that we find ourselves in our current situation not because Christianity has failed, or has never been tried, but because as the historical carrier of patriarchy in the West it has succeeded?” [The Serpent and the Goddess – pg x].
“Condren is currently national director of the Institute for Feminism and Religion in Ireland, and continues to be a challenging and intelligent voice questioning the power relations within both religious and secular societies. The Serpent and the Goddess was written over fifteen years ago, but it remains as fresh as the power structures it highlighted remain prevalent. The analysis of Church & State relations, control over reproductive rights, and the role of patriarchy in violent conflict makes for fascinating reading in today’s world, where war is waged to ‘spread democracy’; where the European Union debates vigorously whether to include religious roots in its constitution; where, in a ‘pro-life’ culture, scientific research involving stem cells poses serious ethical issues for the State, but billions of dollars are spent annually ‘legitimately’ developing more weaponry without a moral qualm. Three Monkeys Online had the pleasure of talking with Dr. Mary Condren to discuss issues raised in her work.” …
