[1][2] Messina is co-founder of Feminism and Religion,[1] which she founded in 2011 with Caroline Kline, Xochitl Alvizo, and Cynthia Garrity Bond.

[6][7] Born September 6, 1975,[citation needed] Messina grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, where she moved after her parents' divorce when she was 12.

[8] Messina earned her doctorate at Claremont Graduate University, focussing on women studies in religion, theology, ethics, and culture.

She is the author of Rape Culture and Spiritual Violence (Routledge, 2014), and If Jesus Ran for President (The Far Press, 2016).

She has appeared on Tavis Smiley, MSNBC, and NPR and gave the TEDx Talk "The New Feminist Revolution in Religion".