2. Women and Religiosity

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About this Lecture

Lecture

In this lecture, we explore why it is that women appear to be more 'religious' than men, focusing in particular on: (i) popular perceptions of religiosity in the UK and elsewhere; (ii) the importance of the work done by the Pew Research Centre ('The Gender Gap in Religion Around the World'), which shows that women are in fact generally more religious than men, especially among Christians; (iii) the global variations in the overall picture, e.g. in Muslim countries, in China, etc.; (iv) the striking gender gap in 'alternative spirituality', e.g. yoga, reiki, and other holistic practices; and (v) the extent to which men tend to hold positions of power within religious organisations.

Course

In this course, Professor Linda Woodhead (Lancaster University) explores religion through the lens of feminism/gender studies. In the first lecture, we explore some classic feminist critiques of Christianity, including the work of Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) and Mary Daly (1928-2010). In the second lecture, we think about why women appear to be more religious than men. In the third lecture, we consider why some women living in gender-liberal societies choose to convert to gender-conservative forms of religion. Next, we look at the work of Fatima Mernissi. In the fifth lecture, we explore the work of Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza. In the sixth lecture, we look to a range of women who took a more radical approach to the problem of misogyny in the religion they were brought up in. In the seventh and final lecture, we move beyond the major, institutionalised religions (e.g. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc.) to consider more 'everyday' religious beliefs and practices, e.g. checking one's horoscope in the newspaper, visiting a psychic or medium, etc. and exploring the extent to which these too are patterned by gender.

Lecturer

Professor Linda Woodhead is Distinguished Professor of Religion and Society at Lancaster University. She has written widely on religion in modern society. Her recent publications include That Was The Church That Was: How the Church of England Lost the English People (2016) (as co-author), Christianity: A Very Short Introduction (2014), and Everyday Lived Islam in Britain (2013) (as co-author).