Women and World Religions
Seminar 1 Introduction (Week 1) 1
Seminar 2 Religion, gender and media (Week 1) 6
Seminar 3 Feminine / Feminist theology (Week 2) 13
Seminar 4 Women in Early Christianity (Week 2) 20
Seminar 5 Women's religious observance and the question of agency (Week 3) 24
Seminar 6 Judaism (Week 3) 31
Seminar 7 Intersectionality (Week 4) 37
Seminar 8 Islam (Week 4) 43
Seminar 9 Religion, Gender and Sexuality (Queer Studies) (Week 5) 51
Seminar 10 Christianity (Week 5) 58
Seminar 11 Secularity (Week 6) 64
Seminar 12 Spiritualities (Week 6) 69
,Seminar 1 Introduction (Week 1)
“Gender, religion, diversity – three such simple sounding terms in the title of this book, yet they
hide such complex issues and experiences.” (King 2004, 1)
Women and gender
● Gender = Social construct
● Different levels
○ Women practicioners
○ Academic interventions
○ Conceptualisations of a ‘feminine’ divine
○ Representation in socio-political debates and
media
Women in religious groups
● Private, pastoral, emotional, spiritual, ritual dimension
● Womanhood and fertility as sacred
● Women as bearers of tradition and honor
● More women active in authority positions
‘World Religion’
● Focus on Christianity (Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism), Judaism, Islam ->
popular religions within the Netherlands
● What is ‘religion’?
○ Buildings? Authority figures? Prayers? Books?
○ Birgit Meyer: “Defining religion has become highly contested –for good
reasons.”(2020)
○ Émile Durkheim: “Religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices
relative to sacred things.” (1915
● Different levels of religion
○ Descriptive term used in common language
○ Discursive concept in relation to the secular or spirituality
○ Everyday practice
○ Institutions and power structures
○ Theologies
The study of religion and gender
Gender in religious studies until 1990s
1
, ● Androcentric perspective on religion was dominant until 1990s
● Religion as something institutional: something to be performed in the religious
institutes
○ Men usually have/had more authority within these institutes.
● Scholars were mainly cisgender white men and grand theorists = a focus on large
questions and mapping of entire religions.
○ Focus on institutions, jurisprudence and positions of power
Women’s emancipation and religion
● Religious communities and traditions are gendered
1. 1970s: Focus on women’s emancipation in society: ‘against’ religion (mainly
Christianity)
2. 2000s: Universalizing and instrumentalizing women’s rights: ‘against’ religion (mainly
Islam)
1970s: Influence of second wave feminism
● 1970s: Focus on women’s emancipation in society: ‘against’ religion (mainly
Christianity)
○ Main viewpoint was that religious institutes were patriarchal, thus needed to be
left behind -> in order to be emancipated = influence of second wave feminism
■ Religion seen as a source of oppression
➔ Eventually changed with intersectionality (more nuance)
○ This second wave feminism was also criticised for being elitist, and mainly
speaking for white women
2000s
● 2000s: Universalizing and instrumentalizing women’s rights: ‘against’ religion
(mainly Islam)
● Women’s studies became feminist studies (institutionalised in 1990s)
○ More nuance right now, but still a tendency to argue against religion / that it
oppresses women.
Concepts ‘religion’ and ‘gender’
“Gender issues relating to religion are ubiquitous, but religion and gender are not simply two analogues
which exist side by side and can be reated to reach other at the same level. They do not exist
independently from each other, for patterns of gender are deeply embedded throughout all religions.
This very embeddedness means that gender is initially difficult to separate out from other aspects of
religion until one consciously makes a ‘gender-critical turn.’” (King 2004, 3)
2
, ● Both are ubiquitous = they’re everywhere
● Concepts of religion and gender are related, but not in the way apples and pears are
two types of fruit -> they don’t function in the same way
○ Both are social constructs (imaginary)
○ Concept of religion is a modern invention -> however, people have been critical
about these concepts for a long time
Embeddedness of gender within religion
‘’Gender issues relating to religion are ubiquitous, but religion and gender are not simply two
analogues which exist side by side and can be related to each other at the same level. They do not
exist independently from each other, for patterns of gender are deeply embedded throughout all
religions. This very embeddedness means that gender is initially difficult to separate out from other
aspects of religion until one consciously makes a ‘gender-critical turn’.’’ (King 2004, 3)
● Gender is deeply embedded in religious traditions: historically and contemporary
(right now). → Both are defining features of human existence, and both are
layered.
○ King: you can’t assess their differences unless you make a gender-critical turn
(= kind of outdated now)
○ King sees gender-critical as = critical study of gender as a social
construct in relation to religion
■ Critical analysis of interaction between religion and gender, and how
gender functions in different ways (in religion)
● Critical lens to analyse gender and religion
➔ Nowadays gender-critical often means something different; for example
extremists or TURFs criticise the idea of gender as a social construct
(i.e. ‘’it is not a construct’’ -> they criticise Judith Butler)
Gender turns in the study of religion
There are different approaches of studying gender in / and religion
→ Different areas of study, for example…
● Feminist theology
○ Feminist ideas viewed from within religion
● Anthropology of religion and gender
● Cultural studies
○ Includes the concept of representation
● Diversity in actors
● … and many more
3
Seminar 1 Introduction (Week 1) 1
Seminar 2 Religion, gender and media (Week 1) 6
Seminar 3 Feminine / Feminist theology (Week 2) 13
Seminar 4 Women in Early Christianity (Week 2) 20
Seminar 5 Women's religious observance and the question of agency (Week 3) 24
Seminar 6 Judaism (Week 3) 31
Seminar 7 Intersectionality (Week 4) 37
Seminar 8 Islam (Week 4) 43
Seminar 9 Religion, Gender and Sexuality (Queer Studies) (Week 5) 51
Seminar 10 Christianity (Week 5) 58
Seminar 11 Secularity (Week 6) 64
Seminar 12 Spiritualities (Week 6) 69
,Seminar 1 Introduction (Week 1)
“Gender, religion, diversity – three such simple sounding terms in the title of this book, yet they
hide such complex issues and experiences.” (King 2004, 1)
Women and gender
● Gender = Social construct
● Different levels
○ Women practicioners
○ Academic interventions
○ Conceptualisations of a ‘feminine’ divine
○ Representation in socio-political debates and
media
Women in religious groups
● Private, pastoral, emotional, spiritual, ritual dimension
● Womanhood and fertility as sacred
● Women as bearers of tradition and honor
● More women active in authority positions
‘World Religion’
● Focus on Christianity (Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism), Judaism, Islam ->
popular religions within the Netherlands
● What is ‘religion’?
○ Buildings? Authority figures? Prayers? Books?
○ Birgit Meyer: “Defining religion has become highly contested –for good
reasons.”(2020)
○ Émile Durkheim: “Religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices
relative to sacred things.” (1915
● Different levels of religion
○ Descriptive term used in common language
○ Discursive concept in relation to the secular or spirituality
○ Everyday practice
○ Institutions and power structures
○ Theologies
The study of religion and gender
Gender in religious studies until 1990s
1
, ● Androcentric perspective on religion was dominant until 1990s
● Religion as something institutional: something to be performed in the religious
institutes
○ Men usually have/had more authority within these institutes.
● Scholars were mainly cisgender white men and grand theorists = a focus on large
questions and mapping of entire religions.
○ Focus on institutions, jurisprudence and positions of power
Women’s emancipation and religion
● Religious communities and traditions are gendered
1. 1970s: Focus on women’s emancipation in society: ‘against’ religion (mainly
Christianity)
2. 2000s: Universalizing and instrumentalizing women’s rights: ‘against’ religion (mainly
Islam)
1970s: Influence of second wave feminism
● 1970s: Focus on women’s emancipation in society: ‘against’ religion (mainly
Christianity)
○ Main viewpoint was that religious institutes were patriarchal, thus needed to be
left behind -> in order to be emancipated = influence of second wave feminism
■ Religion seen as a source of oppression
➔ Eventually changed with intersectionality (more nuance)
○ This second wave feminism was also criticised for being elitist, and mainly
speaking for white women
2000s
● 2000s: Universalizing and instrumentalizing women’s rights: ‘against’ religion
(mainly Islam)
● Women’s studies became feminist studies (institutionalised in 1990s)
○ More nuance right now, but still a tendency to argue against religion / that it
oppresses women.
Concepts ‘religion’ and ‘gender’
“Gender issues relating to religion are ubiquitous, but religion and gender are not simply two analogues
which exist side by side and can be reated to reach other at the same level. They do not exist
independently from each other, for patterns of gender are deeply embedded throughout all religions.
This very embeddedness means that gender is initially difficult to separate out from other aspects of
religion until one consciously makes a ‘gender-critical turn.’” (King 2004, 3)
2
, ● Both are ubiquitous = they’re everywhere
● Concepts of religion and gender are related, but not in the way apples and pears are
two types of fruit -> they don’t function in the same way
○ Both are social constructs (imaginary)
○ Concept of religion is a modern invention -> however, people have been critical
about these concepts for a long time
Embeddedness of gender within religion
‘’Gender issues relating to religion are ubiquitous, but religion and gender are not simply two
analogues which exist side by side and can be related to each other at the same level. They do not
exist independently from each other, for patterns of gender are deeply embedded throughout all
religions. This very embeddedness means that gender is initially difficult to separate out from other
aspects of religion until one consciously makes a ‘gender-critical turn’.’’ (King 2004, 3)
● Gender is deeply embedded in religious traditions: historically and contemporary
(right now). → Both are defining features of human existence, and both are
layered.
○ King: you can’t assess their differences unless you make a gender-critical turn
(= kind of outdated now)
○ King sees gender-critical as = critical study of gender as a social
construct in relation to religion
■ Critical analysis of interaction between religion and gender, and how
gender functions in different ways (in religion)
● Critical lens to analyse gender and religion
➔ Nowadays gender-critical often means something different; for example
extremists or TURFs criticise the idea of gender as a social construct
(i.e. ‘’it is not a construct’’ -> they criticise Judith Butler)
Gender turns in the study of religion
There are different approaches of studying gender in / and religion
→ Different areas of study, for example…
● Feminist theology
○ Feminist ideas viewed from within religion
● Anthropology of religion and gender
● Cultural studies
○ Includes the concept of representation
● Diversity in actors
● … and many more
3
