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.

Preface; Introduction; 1. HEARING VOICES--A PROCESS FOR READING AND WRITING ABOUT WOMEN AND RELIGION; Introduction to the Process: Hermeneutic and Discernment; The Hermeneutical Process; An Example of the Hermeneutical Process; 2. LEARNING LANGUAGES--A CONTEXT FOR READING AND WRITING ABOUT RELIGION AND WOMEN; Language About Religion; Language About Women and Religion; 3. VOICES FROM OFFSTAGE--MARGINAL EXPERIENCE, MARGINAL LANGUAGE; The Experience and Relating of the Experience; The Authority of Religious and Academic Traditions; Marginalization Strategies by Religious Traditions; The Deeper Structures of Marginalization: Women's Bodies; 4. VOICES FROM CENTER STAGE; Movement from Margin to Center; Women's Independent Spiritual/Religious Life; Contemporary Strategies for Movement to the Center; 5. A CHORUS OF MANY VOICES; Many Voices: Difference and Dialogue; The Critical Interpreting Voice; Suggested Readings; Bibliography

Majella FranzmannAssociate Professor in Studies in Religion, University of New England, Australia