Women and Religion

Women and Religion offers students a unique introduction to the process of reading and listening to women's stories of religious experience. Engaging and accessible, the book provides a discussion of women's roles in and experiences of religion and spirituality, primarily within the five major world religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—and also more broadly in other contexts. The author presents women's experiences both within and separate from the normative sphere of established religious activity, which is mainly represented by male-dominated public rituals and texts. The discussions are drawn together under major themes and issues, across traditions and cultures. Topics covered include the marginalization of women and their religious experience within the structures of the major world religions, including texts, rituals, and codes of law and behavior; women's experience within less structured religious settings; women's independent religious life; bringing women from the periphery of religious experience to its center in order to hear them speak as religious and spiritual subjects; and contemporary women's search for new and reimagined ancient forms of religious and spiritual life. Ideal for courses in women and religion, this wide-ranging text can also be used as supplementary reading for courses in world religions.