Nancy Hardesty, pioneer evangelical feminist, dies
Nancy A. Hardesty, one of the founders of evangelical Christian feminism, died April 8 in Atlanta after two years of treatment for pancreatic cancer. She was 69.
Hardesty, in recent years a professor of religion at Clemson University, co-authored an influential book in 1974 with Letha Dawson Scanzoni that presented new interpretations of biblical passages frequently used to limit women's roles in church and society. The book, All We're Meant to Be: Biblical Feminism for Today, was originally published by Word Books and in two more editions by other publishers.
In an essay three months ago, "Some Thoughts on Living and Dying," Hardesty said she had her share of "disappointments, slings and arrows" but also felt she lived a charmed life through her writing and teaching. "So many people have shared with Letha and me how our book . . . changed their lives," she said.
