MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

While it may be obvious that food has played an important role in human history, the role of food with regard to Christianity may be less well understood. Because women were so often associated with food, it played a particularly important role in their own relationships with God and the church. By looking at three distinct time periods—early Christianity, the medieval period, and the twentieth century—one can discover how women’s relationships with food and with God have evolved. In early Christian times, food was celebrated as a way to commune with one another. In the medieval period, women often turned to extreme fasting in order to share Christ’s suffering. In the twentieth century, women were told that overindulging in food was a sin, and a new market of diet books targeted directly at Christian women opened up. This paper explores all three time periods and discusses the changing attitudes of Christian women toward food, as well as a brief look at more modern food trends in Christianity.