Sonia Johnson

Sonia Johnson – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Sonia Johnson, the Mormon feminist excommunicated in 1979 for her bold advocacy of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), became a nationally known activist, author, and 1984 U.S. presidential candidate. Explore her early life, education, milestones, philosophy, legacy, and a curated list of Sonia Johnson quotes.

Introduction

Sonia Johnson (born Sonia Ann Harris, Feb. 27, 1936) is an American feminist activist and writer whose name became synonymous with unflinching resistance to patriarchal power in church and state. A fifth-generation Latter-day Saint, she helped found Mormons for ERA, publicly criticized the LDS Church’s political opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment, and was excommunicated in December 1979. Her story—spanning international teaching, national organizing, a dramatic 37-day hunger strike, bestselling books, and a third-party run for the U.S. presidency in 1984—still illuminates debates about gender, faith, conscience, and political change.

Early Life and Family

Johnson was born in Malad City, Idaho, into a large Mormon family whose roots in the church stretched back five generations. In 1958 she earned a B.A. in English from Utah State University. Soon after marrying Rick Johnson in 1959, she lived and taught abroad with her husband and their growing family, spending years in Samoa, Nigeria, Malawi, Korea, and Malaysia. The couple eventually had four children.

Youth and Education

After returning to the United States, Johnson pursued graduate studies at Rutgers University, where she earned both a master’s degree and an Ed.D. She taught at multiple universities and later worked for the U.S. Office of Education before adjunct appointments at Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia—credentials and experiences that sharpened her voice as a public intellectual once she entered the national spotlight.

Career and Achievements

Mormons for ERA and national emergence

In 1977 Johnson began organizing for the Equal Rights Amendment and co-founded Mormons for ERA. Her first major national exposure came with testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution in August 1978, where she clashed with Utah Senator Orrin Hatch over the ERA.

“Patriarchal Panic” and excommunication

On September 1, 1979, at the American Psychological Association’s meeting in New York, she delivered the blistering speech “Patriarchal Panic: Sexual Politics in the Mormon Church,” alleging covert, coordinated church efforts against the ERA. Within months, LDS leaders initiated disciplinary proceedings, and on December 5–6, 1979, she was excommunicated—an action that drew national headlines.

Civil disobedience and direct action

Johnson continued organizing, speaking at the 1980 Democratic National Convention and engaging in civil disobedience. On Nov. 17, 1980, she and other activists chained themselves to the gates of the Seattle Washington Temple; police arrested 19 demonstrators, an image that ricocheted through the national press.

In 1982, as the ERA’s extended deadline approached, Johnson helped lead the highly publicized “Women Hunger for Justice” fast in Springfield, Illinois. The fast lasted 37 days, drew extensive media coverage, and symbolized the urgency of ERA ratification—even as the amendment fell short of the 38 states needed by June 30, 1982.

Author and public thinker

Johnson’s memoir From Housewife to Heretic (Doubleday, 1981) became a touchstone of late-20th-century feminist writing. She followed with Going Out of Our Minds: The Metaphysics of Liberation (1987), Wildfire: Igniting the She/Volution (1990), and The Ship that Sailed Into the Living Room: Sex and Intimacy Reconsidered (1991), works that probed the intersections of intimacy, power, and the state.

1984 presidential run

In 1984 Johnson became the Citizens Party nominee for U.S. president (also appearing on Peace and Freedom and Consumer Party lines in some states), with journalist Richard Walton as her Citizens Party running mate. She received 72,161 votes (0.08%), finishing fifth nationally—one of the notable third-party feminist candidacies of the era.

Historical Milestones & Context

The ERA, first sent to the states in 1972, had an initial ratification deadline of March 22, 1979, later extended to June 30, 1982. By that final date, 35 states—three short of the constitutional threshold—had ratified. This deadline, and the pitched political battles around it, formed the crucible of Johnson’s activism. (Renewed ratification efforts since 2017 and continuing legal debates keep the ERA in public conversation today.)

Legacy and Influence

Johnson’s excommunication galvanized a generation of faith-based feminists and critics of religious intervention in secular politics. Her organizing broadened the ERA coalition, and her writings—especially From Housewife to Heretic and Going Out of Our Minds—influenced feminist discourse about how patriarchy operates in institutions and private life alike. She later founded a separatist women’s community, Wildfire, and published under the Wildfire imprint, further pushing conversations about autonomy, intimacy, and power.

Personality and Talents

Those who followed Johnson’s work encountered an orator with a storyteller’s timing and a scholar’s rigor. She wielded metaphor and moral clarity—sometimes caustic, often lyrical—to translate structural critiques into memorable, mobilizing language. Her willingness to embrace civil disobedience, endure personal costs, and write with frankness about religion, sex, and the state made her both controversial and unforgettable.

Famous Quotes of Sonia Johnson

“A multitude of Mormon women are through asking permission.” — from “Patriarchal Panic,” Sept. 1, 1979.

“Sexual politics is old hat in the Mormon Church.” — “Patriarchal Panic,” 1979.

“Some people always assume that if you mention a problem, you caused it.” — Going Out of Our Minds (1987).

“It’s only when we have nothing else to hold onto that we’re willing to try something very audacious and scary.” — Going Out of Our Minds (1987).

“Once we understand that patriarchy is totally dependent upon our mistrusting and thwarting and hurting one another… surely we can forgive one another and resist.” — Going Out of Our Minds (1987).

“The Goddess is a metaphor for our own and all women’s creative, healing, transformative powers.” — Going Out of Our Minds (1987).

“Somehow I evolved into a person who ceased to ask permission.” — often cited from interviews and later writings.

“A friend said, ‘Be glad for your troubles—they strengthen you.’ Well, if that’s true, I’ll be so strong they’ll have to beat me to death.” — collected quotations.

(Note: For scholarly or print use, verify the exact editions/pages of Johnson’s books and speeches for precise phrasing and context.)

Lessons from Sonia Johnson

1. Conscience may demand dissent. Johnson’s story shows how moral conviction can collide with institutional loyalty—and how speaking out can reshape public debate.

2. Movements need many fronts. From congressional testimony to hunger strikes and temple-gate protests, she demonstrated how legislative, cultural, and symbolic actions reinforce each other.

3. Narrative is strategy. By telling her journey in From Housewife to Heretic and later works, Johnson invited readers to interrogate private life as political terrain.

4. Persistence outlasts deadlines. Though the ERA missed the 1982 deadline, advocacy continued—proof that culture can move before law catches up.

5. Leadership is costly—and contagious. Johnson’s excommunication, arrests, and health risks during the fast illustrated real costs; the solidarity inspired by that sacrifice, real gains.

Conclusion

Sonia Johnson’s life braids courage, critique, and creativity. She confronted powerful institutions, translated private pain into public purpose, and left a body of writing that still challenges readers to examine how systems shape intimate life. Whether you come to her through the ERA fight, her presidential bid, or her books, Johnson’s example underscores a timeless truth: determined individuals—especially when organized—can change history’s direction. Explore more timeless Sonia Johnson quotes and keep the conversation alive about equality, conscience, and the unfinished work of liberation.

Sources used for verification and cross-reference:

• Archives of Women’s Political Communication (Iowa State University): bio and full text of “Patriarchal Panic” (1979).

• National Archives & U.S. House/CRS materials on ERA deadlines and ratification context.

• UPI archives and university exhibits documenting the 1980 temple-gate arrests and 1982 hunger strike.

• Book references: From Housewife to Heretic (1981); Going Out of Our Minds (1987); later works and imprint details.

Keywords: “Sonia Johnson quotes”, “life and career of Sonia Johnson”, “famous sayings of Sonia Johnson”, “biography”, “achievements”, “philosophy”, “legacy”, “famous quotes”