Women and Asian Religions

Women and Asian Religions
Author: Zayn R. Kassam
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 341
Release: 2017-06-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

Covering eclectic topics ranging from South Asian religion to motherhood to world dance to ethnomusicology, this book focuses on contemporary selected experiences of women and how their lives interface with religion. Religion has often been perceived as the source of constriction for women's roles in society. This volume explores how modern women across Asia are mobilizing their faith traditions to address existential issues encountered in both the public and private realms, relating to economics, public participation, politics, and culture. As such, it is revealed that religion can be a powerful force for social change and ameliorating women's lives, despite use of religious doctrine in the past to limit women. Editor Zayn R. Kassam, PhD, and the contributors cover not only the commonly considered "Asian" traditions of Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism but also Christianity, Judaism, Bahai, and indigenous traditions. The book reveals that the challenges and opportunities Asian women face arise both from within and outside, whether in terms of developments within their countries or in relation to international political and economic regimes. The chapters explore how the issues Asian women face have as much to do with cultural and religious codes as they do with politics, economics, education, and the law; consider the varying ways in which family and motherhood are affected by the state's construction of the gendered citizen, by social constructs of motherhood, and by policies regarding women and children's access to health care; and identify the roles played by religion and spirituality in these circumstances.

Women and Asian Religions

Women and Asian Religions
Author: Zayn R. Kassam
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023
Genre:
ISBN:

Covering eclectic topics ranging from South Asian religion to motherhood to world dance to ethnomusicology, this book focuses on contemporary selected experiences of women and how their lives interface with religion. Religion has often been perceived as the source of constriction for women's roles in society. This volume explores how modern women across Asia are mobilizing their faith traditions to address existential issues encountered in both the public and private realms, relating to economics, public participation, politics, and culture. As such, it is revealed that religion can be a powerful force for social change and ameliorating women's lives, despite use of religious doctrine in the past to limit women. Editor Zayn R. Kassam, PhD, and the contributors cover not only the commonly considered "Asian" traditions of Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism but also Christianity, Judaism, Bahai, and indigenous traditions. The book reveals that the challenges and opportunities Asian women face arise both from within and outside, whether in terms of developments within their countries or in relation to international political and economic regimes. The chapters explore how the issues Asian women face have as much to do with cultural and religious codes as they do with politics, economics, education, and the law; consider the varying ways in which family and motherhood are affected by the state's construction of the gendered citizen, by social constructs of motherhood, and by policies regarding women and children's access to health care; and identify the roles played by religion and spirituality in these circumstances.

Women in Japanese Religions

Women in Japanese Religions
Author: Barbara Ambros
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2015-05-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 1479827622

A comprehensive history of women in Japanese religious traditions Scholars have widely acknowledged the persistent ambivalence with which the Japanese religious traditions treat women. Much existing scholarship depicts Japan’s religious traditions as mere means of oppression. But this view raises a question: How have ambivalent and even misogynistic religious discourses on gender still come to inspire devotion and emulation among women? In Women in Japanese Religions, Barbara R. Ambros examines the roles that women have played in the religions of Japan. An important corrective to more common male-centered narratives of Japanese religious history, this text presents a synthetic long view of Japanese religions from a distinct angle that has typically been discounted in standard survey accounts of Japanese religions. Drawing on a diverse collection of writings by and about women, Ambros argues that ambivalent religious discourses in Japan have not simply subordinated women but also given them religious resources to pursue their own interests and agendas. Comprising nine chapters organized chronologically, the book begins with the archeological evidence of fertility cults and the early shamanic ruler Himiko in prehistoric Japan and ends with an examination of the influence of feminism and demographic changes on religious practices during the “lost decades” of the post-1990 era. By viewing Japanese religious history through the eyes of women, Women in Japanese Religions presents a new narrative that offers strikingly different vistas of Japan’s pluralistic traditions than the received accounts that foreground male religious figures and male-dominated institutions.

Living Our Religions

Living Our Religions
Author: Anjana Narayan
Publisher: Kumarian Press
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2009
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1565492706

The population of the South Asian Diaspora in the US is over 2.5 million people. Yet in a post 9/11 climate of opinion, little is known about this group beyond images of Muslim and Hindu fundamentalists and terrorists. This is particularly true of women where simplistic assumptions about veils and subordination obscure the voices of the women themselves. Rarely are Hindu and Muslim American women—many of whom are social workers, physicians, lawyers, academics, students, homemakers—asked about their everyday lives and religious beliefs. Living our Religions brings out these hidden stories from South Asian American women of Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian and Nepali origin. Their accounts show how diverse and culturally dynamic religious practices emerge within the intersection of histories and politics of specific locales. The authors describe the race, gender, and ethnic boundaries they encounter; they also document how they resist and challenge these boundaries. Living our Religions cuts through the myths and ethnocentrism of popular portrayals to reveal the vibrancy, courage and agency of an invisible minority. Other Contributors: Shobha Hamal Gurung, Selina Jamil, Salma Kamal, Shweta Majumdar, Bidya Ranjeet, Shanthi Rao, Aysha Saeed, Monoswita Saha, Neela, Bhattacharya Saxena, Parveen Talpur, Elora Halim Chowdhury and Rafia Zakaria

Asian and Asian American Women in Theology and Religion

Asian and Asian American Women in Theology and Religion
Author: Kwok Pui-lan
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2020-02-25
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3030368181

This book presents personal narratives and collective ethnography of the emergence and development of Asian and Asian American women’s scholarship in theology and religious studies. It demonstrates how the authors’ religious scholarship is based on an embodied epistemology influenced by their social locations. Contributors reflect on their understanding of their identity and how this changed over time, the contribution of Asian and Asian American women to the scholarship work that they do, and their hopes for the future of their fields of study. The volume is multireligious and intergenerational, and is divided into four parts: identities and intellectual journeys, expanding knowledge, integrating knowledge and practice, and dialogue across generations.

Off the Menu

Off the Menu
Author: Rita Nakashima Brock
Publisher: Presbyterian Publishing Corp
Total Pages: 366
Release: 2007-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0664231403

Asian American Christianity is one of the fastest-growing forms of American Christianity, and it has already proven to be one of the richest and most innovative movements in North American religion. With a deep understanding of their roots in classic Christianity as well as the diversity of Asian culture, these theological voices have contributed some of the freshest and most provocative work of recent decades. This volume brings together women who are searching for authentic Christian dialogue in a world of hybridity and changing context, and it represents one of the most significant areas of growth and vitality in contemporary Christianity.

Gendering Chinese Religion

Gendering Chinese Religion
Author: Jinhua Jia
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2014-07-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1438453078

A gender-critical consideration of women and religion in Chinese traditions from medieval to modern times. Gendering Chinese Religion marks the emergence of a subfield on women, gender, and religion in China studies. Ranging from the medieval period to the present day, this volume departs from the conventional and often male-centered categorization of Chinese religions into Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, and popular religion. It makes two compelling arguments. First, Chinese women have deployed specific religious ideas and rituals to empower themselves in various social contexts. Second, gendered perceptions and representations of Chinese religions have been indispensable to the historical and contemporary construction of social and political power. The contributors use innovative ways of discovering and applying a rich variety of sources, many previously ignored by scholars. While each of the chapters in this interdisciplinary work represents a distinct perspective, together they form a coherent dialogue about the historical importance, intellectual possibilities, and methodological protocols of this new subfield.

Women in World Religions

Women in World Religions
Author: Arvind Sharma
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 324
Release: 1987-04-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1438419686

This is a book by women about women in the religions of the world. It presents all the basic facts and ideological issues concerning the position of women in the major religious traditions of humanity: Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, and tribal religions. A special feature of the book is its phenomenological approach, wherein scholars examine sacred textual materials. Each contributor not only studies her religion from within, but also studies it from her own feminine perspective. Each is an adept historian of religions, who grounds her analysis in publicly verifiable facts. The book strikes a delicate balance between hard fact and delicate perception, the best tradition of phenomenology and the history of religions. It also demonstrates how much religions may vary over time. Contributors are Katherine K. Young, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at McGill University; Nancy Schuster Barnes, whose Ph.D. is in Sanskrit and Indian Studies; M. Theresa Kelleher, Assistant Professor of Religion and Asian Studies at Manhattanville College; Barbara Reed, Assistant Professor of Religion at St. Olaf College; Denise L. Carmody, Professor and Chair, Department of Religion, The University of Tulsa. Also Jane I. Smith, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Lecturer in Islamic Studies at Harvard Divinity School; Rosemary Radford Ruether, Georgia Harkness Professor of Applied Theology at the Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary; Rita M. Gross, Associate Professor of Comparative Religions at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Clair.

Asian Religions, Technology and Science

Asian Religions, Technology and Science
Author: István Keul
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 271
Release: 2015-03-27
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317674480

Over the past five decades, the field of religion-and-science scholarship has experienced a considerable expansion. This volume explores the historical and contemporary perspectives of the relationship between religion, technology and science with a focus on South and East Asia. These three areas are not seen as monolithic entities, but as discursive fields embedded in dynamic processes of cultural exchange and transformation. Bridging these arenas of knowledge and practice traditionally seen as distinct and disconnected, the book reflects on the ways of exploring the various dimensions of their interconnection. Through its various chapters, the collection provides an examination of the use of modern scientific concepts in the theologies of new religious organizations, and challenges the traditional notions of space by Western scientific conceptions in the 19th century. It looks at the synthesis of ritual elements and medical treatment in China and India, and at new funeral practices in Japan. It discusses the intersections between contemporary Western Buddhism, modern technology, and global culture, and goes on to look at women’s rights in contemporary Pakistani media. Using case studies grounded in carefully delineated temporal and regional frameworks, chapters are grouped in two sections; one on religion and science, and another on religion and technology. Illustrating the manifold perspectives and the potential for further research and discussion, this book is an important contribution to the studies of Asian Religion, Science and Technology, and Religion and Philosophy.

Asian Religions

Asian Religions
Author: Randall L. Nadeau
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2014-01-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1118471954

ASIAN RELIGIONS “A unique introduction to Asian religions, combining the scholarly rigor of an established historian of Asian religions with the willingness to engage empathetically with the traditions and to suggest that readers do the same.” Joseph A. Adler, Kenyon College “Randall L. Nadeau has accomplished what only a few have tried, but which has been much needed in the study of religions. He has written a genuinely novel approach to the religions of Asia... This is a work that should find its way into Asian humanities, history, religion, and civilization courses.” Ronnie Littlejohn, Belmont University This all-embracing introduction to Asian religious practices and beliefs takes a unique approach; not only does it provide a complete overview of the basic tenets of the major Asian religions, but it also demonstrates how Asian spiritualities are lived and practiced, exploring the meaning and significance they hold for believers. In a series of engaging and lively chapters, the book explores the beliefs and practices of Confucianism, Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Japanese religions, including Shintō. Using a comparative approach, it highlights the contrasts between Asian and Western modes of thinking and living, and debates the influence of religion on real-world issues including work, economic growth, the environment, human rights, and gender relations. Nadeau, a leading figure in this field, takes an empathetic approach to Asian religious and cultural traditions, and considers Asian spiritualities to be viable systems of belief for today’s global citizens. Integrating exercises, activities, and an appealing mixture of examples, such as novels and biographies, this refreshing book leads readers to an enhanced understanding of the ideas and practice of Asian religions, and of their continuing relevance today.