"I think that's a mistaken notion," she said. "There's a lack of vision about how much better the world would be if women could control their reproductive rights. We have all these street children in underdeveloped countries. We have to bring these countries into the modern era. I think the church has been sex-obsessed too long."

Rice says her fascination with Jesus began with a devoutly Catholic girlhood. Born Howard Allen O'Brien in October 1941, Rice grew up on the edge of New Orleans' Garden District, where "my environment was just saturated with religion," Rice said, her gaze direct and forceful under a gray bob reminiscent of silent movie star Louise Brooks. "The great thing about a childhood like that was everything had meaning."

As a child, Rice said, "I felt the love of God. I wanted to be a priest. When I found out that being a girl meant I couldn't be, I was so disappointed. I didn't understand why."

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