In modern times, feminism is considered a social movement expressing resistance regards to the many discriminations that women suffer. Ever since the Seventies two currents formed within the feminist movement: one emphasising the differences and the other aiming for equality. The first originates in the idea of the feminine "essence" so as to emphasise its particular characteristics: tenderness, thoughtfulness, its daily nature, corporeity, etc. The second is more demanding in terms of the battle for equal opportunities.

Dictated by a mechanism similar to the one that led to the development of feminism, there are three important moments in theological thought concerning women. The first, called "the theology of women or of femininity", attempts to appreciate the roles traditionally attributed to women and considers these necessary compared to theological work. A second moment consists in the so-called "feminist theology". This is considered contextual theology, because it is based on alienating events experienced by women. This consideration coincides with women’s admission to the faculty of theology.

Feminist theology has a critical attitude regards to the patriarchal society and all the resulting rules, traditions and stereotypes. It originates in women’s authentic suffering caused by this andocentric vision and proposes a radical revision of all those forms of oppression.

Feminist theology presents itself as a radical quest for women’s dignity and position, and also for the role they should play and the rights they should exercise within the Church. Feminist theology starts as a consideration within the framework of the theology of liberation, appealing to the methodology of seeing-judging-acting: starting from women’s reality it evaluates it in the light of the Word of God and makes decisions regards to the actions needed to transform that reality.

At the moment it is possible to identify two trends within feminist theology. The first questions the very foundations of the authority of the entire Jewish-Christian culture; while the second questions some of the models of theology’s overall structure, leaving only the structure as such still standing.

Feminist theology these days – and this is the third moment – has incorporated the category of "genus", and with it the proposal has broadened greatly: men and women are called upon to redefine the roles traditionally assigned to each sex so as to propose a new order of relations based on equality and impartiality for all.

Although it is women who decisively encouraged theological meditation in the direction of their necessary participation in ecclesial life in conditions of equality, today this work must be done by everyone, men and women. Being a woman is not sufficient for achieving a theological consideration. It is not enough for theologians to discuss issues concerning women. Theology today is called upon to incorporate within its meditations the dimension of genus, if it wishes to answer the current challenges and be coherent with the evangelical principal: "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female" (Gal 3, 28). This incorporation of the feminist dimension in theology does however presuppose a personal conversion, an in-depth redefinition of our respective roles and a profound desire to establish new relations between the genus with the objective of a new world order that is closer to that community of brothers that the Church must be.