Baháʼí Faith Judaism Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to make the religious, political, and social status of Jewish women equal to that of Jewish men. Feminist movements, with varying approaches and successes, have opened up within all major denominations of Judaism. There are different approaches and versions of feminist theology that exist within the Jewish community. Some of these theologies promote the idea that it is important to have a feminine characterization of God within the
siddur (Jewish prayerbook) and service. They challenge the male rabbi teachings that only emphasize God as a man with masculine traits only. In 1976,
Rita Gross published the article "Female God Language in a Jewish Context" (Davka Magazine 17), which Jewish scholar and feminist
Judith Plaskow considers "probably the first article to deal theoretically with the issue of female God-language in a Jewish context". Gross was Jewish herself at this time.
Reconstructionist Rabbi Rebecca Alpert (
Reform Judaism, Winter 1991) comments: In 1990 Rabbi
Margaret Wenig wrote the sermon, "God Is a Woman and She Is Growing Older", which as of 2011 has been published ten times (three times in German) and preached by rabbis from Australia to California. Rabbi
Paula Reimers ("Feminism, Judaism, and God the Mother",
Conservative Judaism 46 (1993)) comments: Ahuva Zache affirms that using both masculine and feminine language for God can be a positive thing, but reminds her Reform Jewish readership that God is beyond gender (''Is God male, female, both or neither? How should we phrase our prayers in response to God's gender?'', in the
Union for Reform Judaism's iTorah, These views are highly controversial even within liberal Jewish movements.
Orthodox Jews and many
Conservative Jews hold that it is wrong to use English female pronouns for God, viewing such usage as an intrusion of modern, western feminist ideology into Jewish tradition. Liberal prayer books tend increasingly to also avoid male-specific words and pronouns, seeking that all references to God in translations be made in gender-neutral language. For example, the
UK Liberal movement's
Siddur Lev Chadash (1995) does so, as does the
UK Reform Movement's
Forms of Prayer (2008). In
Mishkan T'filah, the American Reform Jewish prayer book released in 2007, references to God as "He" have been removed, and whenever Jewish patriarchs are named (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), so also are the matriarchs (Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah.) In 2015 the Reform Jewish
High Holy Days prayer book
Mishkan HaNefesh was released; it is intended as a companion to Mishkan T'filah. It includes a version of the High Holy Days prayer
Avinu Malkeinu that refers to God as both "Loving Father" and "Compassionate Mother".
Judith Plaskow's
Standing Again at Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective (1991), and
Rachel Adler's
Engendering Judaism: An Inclusive Theology and Ethics (1999) are the only two full-length Jewish feminist works to focus entirely on theology in general (rather than specific aspects such as Holocaust theology.) This work of feminist theology in regards to Judaism, also contextualizes the other goals of this movement, to re frame historical texts and how they are being taught. It is in addition to how God is being viewed but also the role of women historically and how they are being treated today in a new feminist light. While there is some opposition faced, Jewish communities believing feminism is too Western and does not validate Judaism, there is also the approval of an insider feminist perspective that takes into consideration traditions and modern thought.
Christianity Christian feminism is an aspect of feminist theology which seeks to advance and understand the
equality of men and women morally, socially, spiritually, and in leadership from a Christian perspective. This is through reformation to be along the lines of feminist thought in regards to their religion. Christian
feminists argue that contributions by women in that direction are necessary for a complete understanding of Christianity. These theologians believe that
God does not
discriminate on the basis of biologically determined characteristics, such as sex and race. Their major issues include the
ordination of women, male dominance in Christian marriage, recognition of equal spiritual and moral abilities, reproductive rights, and the search for a feminine or gender-transcendent divine. Christian feminists often draw on the teachings of more historical texts that reinforce that feminism does not go against Christianity but has always been in its texts.
Mary Daly grew up an Irish Catholic and all of her education was received through Catholic schools. She has three doctorate degrees, one from St. Mary's College in sacred theology then two from University of Fribourg, Switzerland in theology and philosophy. While in her early works Daly expressed a desire to reform Christianity from the inside, she would later come to the conclusion that Christianity is not able to enact the necessary changes as it is. According to Ford's The Modern Theologians, "Mary Daly has done more than anyone to clarify the problems women have concerning the central core symbolism of Christianity, and its effects on their self-understanding and their relationship to God." Daly is a prime example of how some feminist theologians come to the conclusion that reclamation and reform are no longer a viable option, that condemnation is the only way out. "Rosemary Ruether has written on the question of Christian credibility, with particular attention to ecclesiology and its engagement with church-world conflicts; Jewish-Christian relations...; politics and religion in America; and Feminism". Ruether is said to be one of the major Christian feminist theologians of our time. Her book [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/004057368404000420 Sexism and God-Talk is the earliest feminist theological assessment of Christian theology. In the 1970s
Phyllis Trible pioneered a
Christian feminist approach to
biblical scholarship, using the approach of
rhetorical criticism developed by her dissertation advisor,
James Muilenburg. Christian feminist theology has consistently been critiqued as being focused on primarily white women. This has resulted in the development of movements such as
womanist theology, focusing on African American women coined by the works of Alice Walker,
Asian feminist theology, and mujerista theology, introduced by
Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz concerning Latinas. The term
Christian egalitarianism is sometimes preferred by those advocating gender equality and equity among Christians who do not wish to associate themselves with the feminist movement. Women apologists have become more visible in Christian academia. Their defense of the faith is differentiated by a more personal, cultural and listening approach "driven by love". To learn more about feminism in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, go to
this article. Some advocates of liberation theology will refer to God as "she". This is particularly true of many of the faculty at Union Theological seminary which is a hub of liberation theology and even Senator Rafael Warnock referred to God as "she' in his exegiesis of John 3. See also:
Unity Church,
Christian Science,
Christian theological praxis and
Postmodern Christianity.
Islam Islamic feminism is a feminist framework that engages Islamic texts and traditions to examine and challenge the roles of women, advocating for gender equality in both public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate
women's rights,
gender equality, and
social justice grounded in an Islamic framework. Although rooted in
Islam, the movement's pioneers have also utilized
secular and non-Muslim feminist discourses and recognize the role of Islamic feminism as part of an integrated global feminist movement. Scholars have also emphasized the broader category of Muslim feminism. Advocates of the movement seek to highlight the deeply rooted teachings of equality in the
Quran and encourage critical re-examination of the
patriarchal interpretation of
Islamic teaching through the Qur'an (holy book),
hadith (sayings of
Muhammad) and
sharia (law) towards a more accurate and equal interpretations of theological frameworks. This is done through the advocacy of female autonomy in line with the guideline of Qur’an and through reinterpretation of sacred texts. Feminist theologians argue that gender hierarchy is not inherent to the Qur’an itself, but rather emerges from historically patriarchal interpretations. For example, scholar Asma Barlas argues that inequalities in Islamic tradition stem not from the Qur’anic texts, but from later interpretations of both hadith and sharia which were shaped by a male dominated scholarly contexts. Similarly, Mahajbeen Dhala emphasizes that Fatima’s(daughter of prophet Muhammad) public sermon which was delivered in a male dominated context was a significant theological and political act, demonstrating how marginalized voices can challenge injustice. She further expands on how Fatima grounds her critique in Qur’anic principles of justice and moral responsibility. Through this sermon Fatima challenges emerging political authority and critiques the use of religious justification for power. This interpretation demonstrates how feminist theology in Islam draws on early textual traditions to contest gendered and political hierarchies. Feminist theologians like Azizah al-Hibri, professor of law at the University of Richmond, founded KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights. Feminist theology and Islam is also used to strengthen the spiritual connection Muslim women when they undergo severe trauma, to promote human rights especially those of women.
Fatima Mernissi's book,
The Forgotten Queens of Islam, is a crucial contribution to Islamic feminist thought in its analysis of gender and power in non-Western contexts. Other theologians include
Riffat Hassan,
Amina Wadud, and
Asma Barlas. This theology has been used to educate, re-frame religion, pose as a building block for peace, and the advancement of women's rights, in legislation and in society. More recent works have further expanded the field through approaches such as “Muslima theology” which emphasizes comparative feminist theology and interreligious dialogue. Scholars like Dr.Jerusha Tanner Rhodes highlight how Muslim women engage in theological interpretation across traditions, demonstrating that Islamic feminist theology is also part of a broader global feminist discourse.
Sikhism In
Sikhism women are equal to men. The verse from the Sikh scripture the
Guru Granth Sahib states that: According to scholars such as Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, feminist theology in Sikhism is also the feminization of rituals such as the ceremonial rite of who lights a funeral pyre. Singh further states that this is the reclamation of religion to inspire "personal and social renewal of change" and that these theologians are seen as gurus rather than simply women or scholars. The teachings of
Guru Nanak focus on the singularity between men and women, with anything that differs denounced. He cites the example that origins and traditions stem from women as supervisors and in control, as well as engaged in history, such as
Mai Bhago, who rallied men to fight against imperial forces alongside her in the battle at Muktsar in 1705.
Hinduism Within Ancient Hinduism, women have been held in equal honour as men. The
Manusmriti for example states:
The society that provides respect and dignity to women flourishes with nobility and prosperity. And a society that does not put women on such a high pedestal has to face miseries and failures regardless of how so much noble deeds they perform otherwise. Manusmriti Chapter 3 Verse 56. Within the
Vedas the Hindu holy texts, women were given the highest possible respect and equality. The
Vedic period was glorified by this tradition. Many
rishis were women, indeed so that several of them authored many of the slokas, a poem, proverb or hymn, in the Vedas. For instance, in the Rigveda there is a list of women rishis. Some of them are:
Ghosha,
Godha,
Gargi, Vishwawra, Apala, Upanishad, Brahmjaya,
Aditi,
Indrani, Sarma, Romsha,
Maitreyi,
Kathyayini,
Urvashi,
Lopamudra, Yami,
Shashwati, Sri, Laksha and many others. In the Vedic period women were free to enter into
brahmacharya just like men, and attain
salvation. During
Hindu wedding ceremonies, the following slokas are uttered by the grooms, yet in recent years their importance is understood less frequently with no active desire to analyze them in depth to come to the conclusions that was being portrayed: "O bride! I accept your hand to enhance our joint good fortune. I pray to you to accept me as your husband and live with me until our old age. ..."
Rigveda Samhita Part -4, sukta 85, sloka 9702 "O bride! May you be like the empress of your mother-in-law, father-in-law, sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law (sisters and brothers of the groom). May your writ run in your house."
Rigveda Samhita Part -4, sukta 85, sloka 9712 This sloka from the Atharvaveda clearly states that the woman leads and the man follows: "The Sun God follows the first illuminated and enlightened goddess Usha (dawn) in the same manner as men emulate and follow women."
Athravaveda Samhita, Part 2, Kanda 27, sukta 107, sloka 5705. Women were considered to be the embodiment of great virtue and wisdom. Thus we have: "O bride! May the knowledge of the Vedas be in front of you and behind you, in your center and in your ends. May you conduct your life after attaining the knowledge of the Vedas. May you be benevolent, the harbinger of good fortune and health and live in great dignity and indeed illuminate your husband's home."
Atharva Veda 14-1-64. Women were allowed full freedom of worship. "The wife should do agnihotra (yagna), sandhya (puja) and all other daily religious rituals. If, for some reason, her husband is not present, the woman alone has full rights to do yagna".
Rigveda Samhita, part 1, sukta 79, sloka 872. Moving on towards the Monotheistic era of Hinduism when such ideals such as
Shaivism and
Vaishnavism, a specific deity for feministic worship was brought about under the
Shaktism branch. From a Hinduism point of view women are equal in all measures to men in comparison, historical texts have stated this and is the basis of Hinduism, recognizing women as valuable and interconnected between men and women. Shakti, the name meaning power and referring to the female counterpart of Shiva, possesses connected powers that do not belong to just male or female but rather works together, equally dependent upon the other. Hindu feminist scholars also go beyond the reconstruction of texts but also the reestablishment of society and Hinduism in practice.
Neopaganism Some currents of
Neopaganism, in particular
Wicca, have a
ditheistic concept of a single goddess and a single god, who in
hieros gamos represent a united whole.
Polytheistic reconstructionists focus on reconstructing polytheistic religions, including the various goddesses and figures associated with indigenous cultures. Wicca is a duo theistic belief system. Members of Wicca will work individually with both a God, the son and partner of the Mother Earth, and the Goddess herself. The Goddess is commonly referred to as the Triple Goddess in Wicca. She is also commonly addressed as the Mother Goddess or the Mother Earth. The Goddess represents creation, strength, destruction and the Earth at once. Wicca's common theme across its beliefs is the feminist movement of the Female Goddess, which honours the importance of the female body. Wicca encourages a balance in power between men and women, regardless of gender and does not favour one gender over the other. Buddhist feminist theologies take into consideration religious ideologies, challenge Western feminist views, and reclaim what Buddhism is at its core, interconnected and accepting. == See also ==