Religious institutions have shaped what it means to be a woman across cultures and across history — through purity culture, polygamy norms, and theological arguments about female inferiority. This session examined feminist movements within Christianity, Islam, Mormonism, and Hinduism, asking where institutional religion and women’s liberation are in tension, and where women are reclaiming faith on their own terms. We also explored the recent global rise of religious conservatism and its intersection with trad wife culture.
Materials
Main
- Feminist movements within religion — Maria 2.0 movement in Germany (short article) and the Womenspirit Rising movement (articles)
- Islam: the discussion and conclusion of this Leiden thesis on Islam & feminism — a good overview of different sub-topics (paper · Leiden University), and personal voices on women in Turkey (YouTube · 5 min)
- Christianity: a short article defending the traditional female role in Christianity, which you can also listen to (article · Catholic.com · 12 min), an Instagram reel on queer history, and a 10-minute video on the Bible and patriarchy (YouTube · 10 min)
- Mormonism: Dear Mormon Man — an essay by Amy Allebest (article), and the first 10 minutes of a video by Alyssa Grenfell on growing up Mormon as a woman (YouTube · 10 min)
- Hinduism: a short video on feminism in Hinduism (YouTube · 5 min)
- General: a 5-minute video on why women are seen as impure across religions (YouTube · 5 min)
Supplementary
- On queerness and Christianity: the 1946 documentary on mistranslation or this podcast episode (documentary + podcast)
- Brief overview of what the Quran says about women's rights and status (article · The Conversation)
- Short article on Judaism and feminism, primarily in the US context (article)
- Master's thesis on purity culture — read the concluding remarks (paper · CSU)
- 1-minute video to know you're clean after your period — explained by an old man (YouTube · 1 min)
Session structure
- How has religion shaped your understanding of what it means to be a woman?
- Share your own experience with religion — how it empowered or inhibited you
- What were you taught in school or at home about gender roles through a religious lens?
- What shocked us in the material?
- Look at parallels between religions — purity culture appears across Islam, Christianity, Hinduism
- What is written in holy books vs what actually happens in practice?
- Key discussion topics
- Purity culture: the concept of female impurity, menstruation, virginity
- Why is polygamy permitted or celebrated in some religious traditions — especially in the afterlife (Mormonism, certain Islamic interpretations)?
- Religion and patriarchy — how do they reinforce each other?
- Religion and fascism — the rise of religious authoritarianism
- What is the function of religion in today's society?
- The new rise of conservatism and religion — trad wives, Christian nationalism
- Can religion be feminist? What would that look like?
- Looking forward
- How do you see the relationship between women and religion evolving?
- If you could change one religious practice or teaching regarding women, what would it be?
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