Women and Religious Traditions

by Leona M. Anderson (Editor), Pamela Dickey Young

Women and Religious Traditions analyzes the roles of women in the world's religions from historical, textual, political, psychological, and contemporary perspectives. It begins with an introduction to feminist theory and issues in the study of religion, followed by individual chapters devoted
to each of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Chinese Religions, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Native Traditions, and New Age Religions. Organized by themes such as history, texts, symbols, sexuality, and social change, the new second edition examines how religious mythology and patriarchy have shaped the
social and private lives of women throughout history.

350 pages, Paperback

First published July 11, 2010

Reviews

[Natalie]

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a survey look at religion through the specific lens of women's issues. This book is split into religious traditions: Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Chinese traditions, Indigenous, Christian, Islam, Sikhism, and New Age Traditions (including Wicca and other Neopagan spiritualities). Each chapter is written by a representative of that religious tradition, and can therefore give interesting insights into their personal experience. Case studies are given which enhance the personal application of others and ourselves in reading their experiences. This book is one I'd recommend to anyone who would like to gain a really solid foundation for the women's issues and current experiences that exist within the world. For being a survey text, I felt it was very thorough. Baha'i or Zoroastrian would have been cool too, but on the whole I felt that I got pretty much the whole gamut.