Donna Steichen

An American Catholic author from St. Cloud, Minnesota, whose 1991 book "Ungodly Rage: The Hidden Face of Catholic Feminism" became an unexpected bestseller for a first-time author and drew both praise and sharp criticism within the Catholic Church.

Researched by Muhammad Abdullah Al Yasin · 14 September 2026

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Location: Ojai, California, United States
Country: United States
Born: St. Cloud, Minnesota
Notable work: "Ungodly Rage: The Hidden Face of Catholic Feminism" (Ignatius Press, 1991)
Career: Worked as a Catholic journalist during the 1970s and 1980s
Other books: Also wrote "Prodigal Daughters: Catholic Women Come Home to the Church" (Ignatius Press, 1998) and "Chosen: How Christ Sent Twenty-Three Surprised Converts to Replant His Vineyard" (Ignatius Press, 2009)
Other writing: Contributed book reviews and commentary to Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity and to Crisis Magazine

Overview

Donna Steichen is an American Catholic author from St. Cloud, Minnesota, who later settled in Ojai, California. During the 1970s and 1980s she worked as a Catholic journalist and grew concerned about feminism’s influence on American Catholic institutions, attending religious feminist conferences — often undercover, by her own account — as part of her research (Catholic World Report). Catholic World Report also reported that she married her husband roughly 60 years before its 2011 profile was published and that the couple had four children, and it described her more broadly as an activist in the pro-life movement and in religious education alongside her journalism (Catholic World Report).

“Ungodly Rage”

In 1991, Ignatius Press published Steichen’s book “Ungodly Rage: The Hidden Face of Catholic Feminism,” based on the articles and research she had compiled over the preceding decade. The book became an unexpected bestseller for a first-time author, selling roughly 50,000 copies and leading to international speaking engagements across North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. The book was documented with more than 500 footnotes. According to Catholic World Report, orthodox Catholics — including Cardinal John O’Connor, who discussed it publicly — received the work favorably, while bishops, Church bureaucracy and feminist organizations reacted with strong opposition (Catholic World Report). Independently, the National Catholic Register has continued to cite “Ungodly Rage” as a reference point in the wider debate over feminism’s influence on Catholic teaching and institutions, decades after its original publication (National Catholic Register).

Other Books and Writing

Beyond “Ungodly Rage,” Steichen edited “Prodigal Daughters: Catholic Women Come Home to the Church” (Ignatius Press, 1998), a collection of Catholic women’s conversion narratives, and later “Chosen: How Christ Sent Twenty-Three Surprised Converts to Replant His Vineyard” (Ignatius Press, 2009) (Ignatius Press). Crisis Magazine, an independent Catholic commentary outlet, separately identifies “Chosen” as among her more recent work (Crisis Magazine).

She also continued writing after “Ungodly Rage,” contributing book reviews and commentary to Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity and to Crisis Magazine. In “The Wiccan Myth,” a June 2001 review in Touchstone, she examined Philip G. Davis’s “Goddess Unmasked: The Rise of Neo-Pagan Feminist Spirituality” and its critique of claims about a peaceful, matriarchal Paleolithic civilization underlying neo-pagan Goddess movements (Touchstone). In a January 2012 Crisis Magazine piece, “Is Feminism a Heresy?,” she restated her view that feminism’s embrace of contraception and abortion, and its devaluation of motherhood, has caused social harm outweighing any professional gains for women (Crisis Magazine).

Critical Response

“Ungodly Rage” also drew sustained scholarly criticism independent of the mixed institutional reaction Catholic World Report described. In a critique first circulated online in June 1995, independent commentator Elizabeth Knuth argued that the book’s scholarship was unreliable — citing quotations taken out of context, page numbers and book titles that did not match the sources cited, and characterizations of feminist writers that Knuth said misrepresented their original arguments. Knuth concluded that Steichen’s scholarship “is sloppy” and that she is “not objective, nor is she accurate” (Elizabeth Knuth). This profile does not attempt to adjudicate between Knuth’s criticisms and the more favorable reception “Ungodly Rage” received from figures such as Cardinal John O’Connor, as reported by Catholic World Report.

What this profile does not claim

This profile relies on a single independent profile (Catholic World Report, 2011) for biographical detail about Steichen herself; specific figures such as her age at the time of that profile’s publication are not independently corroborated elsewhere, and no death record or obituary was found for her. It does not assess the substantive accuracy of “Ungodly Rage“‘s claims about the Catholic feminist movement, which remains a matter of dispute between the book’s supporters and critics.

Wikipedia’s article on Steichen also states that she was born in Wadena, Minnesota; worked as a classroom teacher; and served as an officer of the Minnesota Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights from 1980 to 1986. None of these specific claims could be independently verified in this pass — Catholic World Report says only that she is “originally from St. Cloud, Minnesota” (not necessarily her birthplace) and describes her as a pro-life and religious-education activist without identifying her as a classroom teacher or naming any organizational office — so they are left out of this profile rather than resolved. See Open Items for further detail.

Timeline

1970s-1980s: Works as a Catholic journalist and, by her own account, attends religious feminist conferences (often undercover) as research for what becomes "Ungodly Rage."
1991: Publishes "Ungodly Rage: The Hidden Face of Catholic Feminism" with Ignatius Press, which becomes an unexpected bestseller for a first-time author, selling roughly 50,000 copies and drawing international speaking invitations across North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines.
1995: An independent critique of "Ungodly Rage," written by Elizabeth Knuth and circulated online, argues that the book's scholarship is unreliable, citing quotations taken out of context, page numbers and titles that do not match the sources cited, and characterizations of feminist writers that Knuth says misrepresent their original arguments.
1998: Edits "Prodigal Daughters: Catholic Women Come Home to the Church," a collection of Catholic women's conversion narratives, published by Ignatius Press.
2001: Publishes "The Wiccan Myth" in Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity, a review of Philip G. Davis's "Goddess Unmasked: The Rise of Neo-Pagan Feminist Spirituality."
2009: Publishes "Chosen: How Christ Sent Twenty-Three Surprised Converts to Replant His Vineyard" with Ignatius Press.
2012: Publishes "Is Feminism a Heresy?" in Crisis Magazine, restating her view that feminism's embrace of contraception, abortion and the devaluation of motherhood has caused significant social harm.

What we could not verify

These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.

Biographical detail beyond the book's reception rests on one independent profile (Catholic World Report); her age and family details as reported there are not independently corroborated elsewhere and are presented as that outlet reported them at the time of publication. A search for a death record or obituary for Steichen did not find one.
Wikipedia's article on Steichen states she was born in Wadena, Minnesota; worked as a classroom teacher; and served as vice-president and then president of the Minnesota Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights from 1980 to 1986. None of these specific claims could be independently verified in this pass. Catholic World Report, this profile's principal independent source, says only that she is "originally from St. Cloud, Minnesota" (not necessarily her birthplace) and describes her as an activist in the pro-life movement and religious education, without identifying her as a classroom teacher or naming any organizational office. These claims are therefore omitted rather than added, pending independent corroboration.
Wikipedia also attributes to Steichen a 1988 pamphlet, "Population control goes to school," and lecture stops in England and Ireland in addition to the Europe-wide travel already sourced to Catholic World Report. No independent source confirming either detail was found, so neither is included in this profile.

Sources

6 sources (4 tier 2, 1 tier 3, 1 first-party), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Statements the subject makes about itself are marked as such and are not treated as independent evidence. See the source policy.

Catholic World Report's profile/interview was fetched and read in full; it is an independent Catholic news and commentary outlet, not affiliated with Steichen or her publisher, Ignatius Press. The National Catholic Register, a second independent Catholic news outlet, was also fetched and read in full; it discusses "Ungodly Rage" within the broader debate over feminism's influence on Catholic teaching but adds no new biographical detail about Steichen herself. Ignatius Press's own author page (first-party) was used only for uncontested bibliographic facts. A further pass checked Wikipedia's article on Steichen purely as a lead index for additional angles; every lead taken from it was independently verified against a fresh, non-Wikipedia source before use, and leads that could not be independently verified were left out (see Open Items). Independent verification was found and used for: her authorship of "Prodigal Daughters" and "Chosen" (Ignatius Press, first-party, plus Crisis Magazine's independent mention of "Chosen"); her bylines in Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity and Crisis Magazine, confirmed by fetching those outlets' own pages directly; and a 1995 independent critique of "Ungodly Rage" by Elizabeth Knuth, fetched and read in full from her own page. Catholic World Report was re-fetched and re-read in full during this pass, which surfaced two previously unused details already present in that source: her marriage roughly 60 years before the 2011 profile and her four children, and its description of her as an activist in the pro-life movement and religious education.

Incalculable Damage — Catholic World Report, 2011-05-31 · Tier 2 Supports: Her biographical background, her research methods for "Ungodly Rage," the book's sales and reception, and the reactions it drew from Church officials and feminist organizations.
Feminism Below the Surface — National Catholic Register · Tier 2 Supports: Independent corroboration that "Ungodly Rage" remains cited decades after publication within ongoing Catholic debate over feminism's influence on Church teaching and institutions.
The Wiccan Myth — Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity, 2001-06-01 · Tier 2 Supports: Independent confirmation that Steichen continued writing after "Ungodly Rage," reviewing Philip G. Davis's "Goddess Unmasked" for an independent religious journal.
Is Feminism a Heresy? — Crisis Magazine, 2012-01-19 · Tier 2 Supports: Independent confirmation of a later Steichen article restating her critique of feminism, and of her continuing byline in an independent Catholic commentary outlet, which also separately notes her authorship of "Chosen."
Donna Steichen: How Trustworthy Is She? — Elizabeth Knuth, 1995-06-01 · Tier 3 Supports: An independent, named critique of "Ungodly Rage"'s scholarship, alleging misquotation, mismatched citations and mischaracterization of the feminist writers it discusses.
Authors - Donna Steichen — Ignatius Press · First-party Supports: Bibliographic confirmation that Ignatius Press published "Ungodly Rage," "Prodigal Daughters," and "Chosen."

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