<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: thumb|right|Mary Daly -->
{{Infobox Philosopher
| region           = Western philosophy
| era              = 20th century philosophy
| color            = #B0C4DE
| image_name       = 
| image_size       = 200px
| image_caption    = 
| name             = Mary Daly
| birth            = 1928
| death            = 
| school_tradition = Feminist philosophy
| main_interests   = Feminist theology, ontology, metaphysics
| notable_ideas    = 
| influences       = Paul Tillich, Martin Buber, Thomas Aquinas
| influenced       = 
| signature        = 
}}'''Mary Daly''' (born  radical feminist philosopher and theologian. She taught at Boston College, a Jesuit-run institution, for 33 years.  Daly was forcibly retired from Boston College in 1999, after violating university policy. 

==Education==

Before obtaining her two doctorates in sacred theology and English from St. Mary's College.

==Career==

Daly taught classes at Boston College from 1967 to 1999, including courses in theology, feminist ethics, and patriarchy.

Daly was first threatened with dismissal when, following the publication of her first book, ''The Church and the Second Sex'' (1968), she was issued a terminal contract. As a result of support from the (then all-male) student body and the general public, however, Daly was ultimately granted tenure. 

Daly's refusal to admit male students to some of her classes at Boston College also resulted in disciplinary action. While Daly justified her position on the grounds that their presence inhibited class discussion, Boston College consistently reprimanded Daly, claiming that her actions were in violation of title IX of federal law requiring the College to ensure that no person was excluded from an education program on the basis of sex, and of the University's own non-discrimination policy insisting that all courses be open to both male and female students.  

In 1998, a discrimination claim against the college by two male students was backed by the Center for Individual Rights, a conservative advocacy group. Following further reprimand, Daly absented herself from classes rather than admit the male students.<ref>[http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/rvp/pubaf/chronicle/v7/mr4/daly.html Daly's Absence Prompts Cancellations<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Boston college removed her tenure rights, citing a verbal agreement by Daly to retire. She brought suit against the College disputing violation of her tenure rights and claiming she was forced out against her will, but her request for injunction was denied by Middlesex Superior Court, Judge Martha Sosman.<ref>[http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/rvp/pubaf/chronicle/v7/my28/daly.html Judge Denies Daly's Bid for Injunction<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

An out-of-court settlement was reached in which Daly agreed that she had retired from her faculty position.<ref>[http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/rvp/pubaf/chronicle/v9/f15/daly.html Mary Daly Ends Suit, Agrees to Retire<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> However, Daly maintains that Boston College had wronged her students by depriving her of her right to teach freely.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,315338,00.html Unholy row as feminist lecturer bars men | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> She documented her account of the events in the 2006 book ''Amazon Grace: Recalling the Courage to Sin Big''.

Daly recently protested the commencement speech of Condoleezza Rice at Boston College and continues to speak on campuses around the United States as well as internationally.

==Works==

Daly has published a number of works, and is perhaps best known for her second book, ''Beyond God the Father'' (1973). ''Beyond God the Father'' does just that, move beyond God. In fact this is the last book that Daly really considers God a substantive subject.  In this novel she lays out her systematic theology, following Tillich’s example.<ref>Riswold, Caryn D."Two Reformers: Martin Luther and Mary Daly as Political Theologians'', page 33. Wipf and Stock Publishers: Eugene, OR 2007</ref>  It is often regarded as a foundational work in feminist theology, ''Beyond God the Father'' is her attempt to explain and overcome androcentrism in Western religion. It is notable for its playful writing style, and its attempt to rehabilitate "God-talk" for the women's liberation movement by critically building on the writing of existentialist theologians like Paul Tillich and Martin Buber. While the former would increasingly characterize her writing, she soon abandoned the latter. 

Another popular work of Daly’s ''Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism'' published in 1978. In this book Daly explores the many ways in which men throughout history have sought to oppress women. In this book she moves beyond her previous thoughts on the history of patriarchy to the focus on the actual practices that perpetuate patriarchy, calling it the religion of patriarchy.<ref>Riswold, Caryn D."Two Reformers: Martin Luther and Mary Daly as Political Theologians'', page 33. Wipf and Stock Publishers: Eugene, OR 2007</ref>

Daly’s work ''Webster’s First New Intergalactic Wickedary of the English Language'' published in 1987 continued to explore an alternative language she began using in Pure Lust to explain the process of exorcism and ecstasy.  In ''Wickedary'' Daly provide’s definitions as well as chants that can be used by women to free themselves from patriarchal oppression.  She also explores the labels that the patriarchal society places on women to prolong their domination of our male-driven society.  Daly claims that is the role of women to unveil the liberatory nature of labels such as “Hag”, “Witch”, and “Lunatic”.<ref>Ruether, Rosemary Radford. "Women and Redemption", page 219. Augsburg Fortress Publishers: Minneapolis, MN 1998</ref>

'''Mary Daly''' (* 16. Oktober 1928 in Schenectady, New York) ist eine feministische Theologin. Sie ist eine der Vordenkerinnen der zweiten Frauenbewegung in den 1960er und 1970er Jahren.
Die als Autorin und Philosophin tätige Daly gilt als die bedeutendste radikale Feministin des 20. Jahrhunderts. 

== Leben ==
Daly ist US-Amerikanerin und stammt aus einer Arbeiterfamilie mit irischen Vorfahren. 
Sie studierte Englisch am College of Saint Rose in New York und an der Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. 

Ihre erste Promotion in Religion legte sie 1954 am Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana ab. Anschließend unterrichtete sie am Cardinal Cushing College in Brookline, MA bis 1966. 

Sie ging an die katholischer Theologie und Philosophie und promovierte im Jahr 1963 in Theologie mit summa cum laude. 1965 legte sie eine dritte Promotion in Philosophie ab. 

Von 1966 bis 1999 hatte sie eine Professur für Theologie am jesuitischen Boston College inne. Ein Rockefeller-Stipendium ermöglichte ihr das Werk Gyn/Ökologie zu verfassen.

==Werk==
Die große amerikanische Feministin deckt in ihrem ersten feministischen Werk "The Church and the Second Sex", das 1968, zu Beginn der zweiten Frauenbewegung erschien, die Unterdrückungsmechanismen auf, denen Frauen in patriarchalen Kulturen ausgesetzt sind und zeigt Strategien, diesen zu begegnen. Als erste Autorin definierte sie den Radikalfeminismus, als dessen wichtigstes Ziel sie die Abschaffung des Patriarchats sieht. Nur dadurch, sagt Daly, könne der Unterdrückung der Frauen Einhalt geboten und die gesellschaftlichen Geschlechtsunterschiede aufgehoben werden. 

In ihrem zweiten Werk, "Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women's Liberation" von 1973, stellt sie an die Stelle des unterdrückenden Vatergottes die Göttin. Sie fordert, dass Homosexualität als Form weiblicher Lebenskunst anerkannt wird. "Beyond God the Father" löst unter anderem in Deutschland die Bewegung von Lesben in der katholischen Kirche aus, die von Herta Leistner initiiert wurde. 

Dalys feministische Gesellschaftsanalyse wird kontrovers diskutiert. Während die einen in ihren philosophischen Werken neue gynozentrische Gesichtspunkte finden, klagen andere über ihre vermeintliche Männerdiskriminierung und behaupten, sie würde zum Gendercide aufzurufen. Daly wurde wegen Häresie aus der katholischen Kirche ausgeschlossen.