Feminism isn’t just a social cause anymore—it’s being called a full-blown belief system with its own gospel.

Author and scholar Carrie Gress says today’s feminist movement mirrors religion, borrowing sacred elements while steering women away from God, family, and purpose-driven lives, as Fox News reports.

Gress, a fellow at the Institute for Human Ecology and author of 11 books, is raising eyebrows ahead of her latest release, Something Wicked: Why Feminism Can’t Be Fused With Christianity, where she lays out a case that modern feminism now acts more like a substitute religion than a simple fight for equality.

Scholar Claims Feminism Mimics Faith

According to Gress, feminism has become a megachurch all its own—in structure, style, and ideological demands. “In many respects, it can actually be seen as a megachurch,” she said. “It has taken on so many of the aspects of Christianity.”

She points to how feminism imitates moral frameworks with its own set of “commandments,” sacraments, and forms of evangelization. Rather than worshiping God, she says, it exalts independence and self-rule, creating what she calls an “idol” out of female autonomy.

This isn’t just symbolism, Gress argues—it’s a full-on belief system that’s no longer content coexisting with Christianity. “Feminism actually is not a subset of Christianity. It's actually a rival to Christianity,” she warns.

Tracing Feminist Roots To Radical Thinkers

Gress says this ideological takeover didn’t happen overnight. She traces it back to the early 1800s, where figures like Mary Wollstonecraft and her husband William Godwin planted the seeds of radical autonomy and non-traditional values.

She particularly highlights Percy Bysshe Shelley’s influence, naming three “commandments” of feminism inspired by his writings: a disdain for men, rejection of monogamy, and an embrace of occult practices. None of which, she adds, aligns with the Christian view of human dignity or purpose.

Fast forward two centuries, and the results are playing out in culture and politics. From major rallies like the National Women's March in Boston to protest signs saying “My Body, My Choice,” feminism has gone far beyond workplace equality and straight into worldview territory.

A Cultural Shift From Family To Autonomy

Gress believes the core of the issue is that women have been sold a vision of fulfillment grounded in careerism and isolation. “It's taught women and continues to tell women that our greatest happiness and our fulfillment is going to come when we are living by and for ourselves,” she said.

This, she argues, has chipped away at traditional family structures and devalued the role of children—painting them as burdens rather than blessings. She notes that some women, lacking that relational orientation, have rechanneled those instincts into pet ownership instead of parenthood.

The shift, according to Gress, comes with emotional consequences. Feminism today, she says, breeds bitterness more than empowerment. “They really embody a kind of anger, rage, envy, contempt,” she remarked.

Public Figures Endorse Feminist Religion

Gress isn’t alone in seeing feminism as something that’s become a moral compass for many. Back in 2020, Senegalese feminist Diakhoumba Gassama openly told interviewers, “I can say feminism is my religion.”

Even cultural influencers are reinforcing the trend. Rapper Nicki Minaj recently urged women to pursue wealth and personal success without ever relying on men, pushing ideals far from the Christian view of interdependence and sacrificial love.

Others in the media have taken note. In 2015, Chris Bodenner wrote in The Atlantic that modern feminism resembles “religious fundamentalism,” warning that dissenters are often ostracized for opposing the orthodoxy.

Gress Calls for Return to Purposeful Womanhood

Gress isn’t advocating a return to 1950s domestic fiction, but she is calling for what she sees as a thoughtful restoration of traditional gender roles. Especially, she says, where men and women direct their efforts toward shared, meaningful goals.

“It’s really the restoration of womanhood and helping women see that… when a couple comes together and is working toward a common goal instead of working against each other, that’s really where you see major gains,” Gress said.

Whether or not readers agree with her conclusions, Gress is pushing into a conversation few are willing to have: what happens when cultural causes become secular creeds—ones that demand full allegiance but offer little grace in return?