SUNY series, McGill Studies in the History of Religions, A Series Devoted to International Scholarship – serie

This book examines how the women's movement is affecting traditional religions and civilizations throughout the world. It reviews cases of global impact in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Australian aboriginal religion. This volume completes the trilogy devoted to women in world religions, edited by Arvind Sharma. The second book in the series is entitled Religion and Women. The present work surveys the position of women in the religious traditions covered in the first volume of the trilogy, Women in World Religions, placing these traditions in contemporary context.

This book discusses the position of women in the Native American, African, Shinto, Jaina, Zoroastrian, Sikh, and Baha'i faiths for the first time in a single volume, and evolves a conceptual framework within which their positions could be comprehensively considered. The contributing scholars provide an enlarged database for a more thorough discussion of the questions pertaining to women and religion in general, and simultaneously advance the theoretical frontiers in women's studies. Religion and Women belongs to a trilogy about women and world religions edited by Arvind Sharma the first and third volumes being respectively, Women in World Religions and Today's Woman in World Religions.

A survey of the Ismaili Muslim traditions and a translation of many Santpanth Ismaili Ginans (hymnsCoursing though cultures and time, tuneful verse has given moving expression to the human longing for the divine. As poetry strung on sweet melodies, hymns bear testimony to the religious life of the devout, and to the inspiring teachings of minstrels and saints. Such is the ginan tradition of the Satpanth Isma'ilis, Indian successors of the Fatand Nizari Isma'ili sect of the Shi'ah Muslims. Traditionally recited during daily ritual prayers, ginans have been revered for generations among the Satpanth Isma'ilis as sacred compositions.This work offers for the first time an extensive translation of hymns attributed to the Isma'ili saint-composer, Pir Shams (ca. 13th century), who is at once one of the most pivotal and yet most enigmatic figures of this literary tradition. It also presents a cogent historical reconstruction of the beginnings of Satpanth Isma'ilism—a phase of Isma'ili history that has spanned over eight centuries.

Explores the history and nature of vrats (ritual fasts) in text and practice, and the roles these rites play in the lives of Hindu women in North India.This is the first book-length study that explores the history and nature of vrats-votive fasting rites-the role these rites play in the religious lives of Hindu women in North India, and the meanings these women attribute to them. By placing vrats within the context of various Hindu religious categories such as concepts of time; types of religious activities; goals; notions of purity and pollution; auspiciousness and inauspiciousness, the book demonstrates how the concept of vrat provides a lens to the Hindu worldview. Accordingly, it offers insight into the nature of Hindu popular religion in general and women's religion in particular.Drawing extensively on the personal narratives of individual women, this study subtly corrects the prevailing view that all women observe vrats solely for the benefit of others. The author shows that Hindu women's sense of duty and obligation to ensure the well-being of their families through the performance of vrats explains only part of the appeal of these rites. The data demonstrate that women also perform vrats for the social, physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits. Not only do vrats provide an avenue for the expression of profound spiritual yearnings, but some women use vrats as a way to gain a measure of control over their own lives, a source of empowerment in an environment in which women frequently lack control and self-determination.

CHOICE 1999 Outstanding Academic BooksAddressing religion and feminism on a global scale, this unprecedented book contains a nuanced and fine-tuned treatment of seven of the world's religions from a feminist perspective by leading women scholars. Feminism and World Religions contains chapters on Hinduism by Vasudha Narayanan, Buddhism by Rita M. Gross, Confucianism by Terry Woo, Taoism by Karen McLaughlin and Eva Wong, Judaism by Ellen M. Umansky, Christianity by Rosemary Radford Ruether, and Islam by Riffat Hassan, along with a general introduction and a postscript by Katherine K. Young and a preface by Arvind Sharma. The fact that these authors share a dual but undivided commitment both to themselves as women and to their traditions as adherents imparts to their voices a prophetic quality, and if Mahatma Gandhi is to be believed, even scriptural value.

Explores the impact of women's studies on methodology in religious studies.Methodology in Religious Studies assesses the impact of women's studies on the various methods employed in studying religion. Since its inception in the 1860s, the study of religion as an academic discipline has evolved over time, ranging from the classically historical to the boldly hermeneutical. The women's studies movement has, since the 1980s, become part and parcel of the intellectual landscape of our times, and the study of religion has become increasingly influenced by it. What are the implications of this new development for the methodology of religious studies? Leading practitioners of psychological, theological, sociological, anthropological, phenomenological, historical, and hermeneutic approaches examine the mutually enriching interface between religious studies and women's studies, as they explore the broader issue of the interaction between method and the nature of the subject itself.

Explores the impact of women's studies on methodology in religious studies.Methodology in Religious Studies assesses the impact of women's studies on the various methods employed in studying religion. Since its inception in the 1860s, the study of religion as an academic discipline has evolved over time, ranging from the classically historical to the boldly hermeneutical. The women's studies movement has, since the 1980s, become part and parcel of the intellectual landscape of our times, and the study of religion has become increasingly influenced by it. What are the implications of this new development for the methodology of religious studies? Leading practitioners of psychological, theological, sociological, anthropological, phenomenological, historical, and hermeneutic approaches examine the mutually enriching interface between religious studies and women's studies, as they explore the broader issue of the interaction between method and the nature of the subject itself.

A first-hand description of the Durga Puja, the Hinda celebration of the Great Goddess.During a nine-day period every autumn, Hindus in India and throughout the world worship the Great Goddess, Durgā—the formidable deity who is loved like a mother. One of the most dramatic and popular of these celebrations is the Durgā Pūjā, a rite noted for its visual pageantry, ritual complexity, and communal participation. In this book, Hillary Peter Rodrigues describes the Bengali style of Durgā Pūjā practiced in the sacred city of Banaras from beginning to end. A romanization of the Sanskrit litany is included along with an English translation.In addition to the liturgical description, Rodrigues provides information on the rite's component elements and mythic aspects. There are interpretive sections on puja, the Great Goddess, women's roles in the ritual, and the socio-cultural functions of the ritual. Rodrigues maintains that the Durgā Pūjā is a rite of cosmic rejuvenation, of empowerment at both the personal and social levels, and a rite that orchestrates manifestations of the feminine, both Divine and human.

An exploration of gender and power relations in Yoruba religion—both Christianity and Yoruba traditional religion.Drawing on a wide range of oral and written sources, this book shows that women occupy a central place in the religious worldview and life of the Yoruba people and shows how men and women engage in mutually beneficial roles in the Yoruba religious sphere. It explores how gender issues play out in two Yoruba religious traditions-indigenous religion and Christianity in Southwestern Nigeria. Rather than shy away from illuminating the tensions between the prominent roles of Yoruba women in religion and their perceived marginalization, author Oyeronke Olajubu underscores how Yoruba women have challenged marginalization in ways unprecedented in other world religions.

Modern Western approaches to India often have focused on metaphysics at the expense of ethics, leading many to see Hinduism as only concerned with the esoteric and the otherworldly. The chapters of this book offer case study explorations that are selected and presented to invite comparisons with the modern West. Such comparisons will help to remove the apparent otherworldly nature of Hindu thought from the minds of Western readers, as well as give depth and new significance to Indian ideas in the areas of medical ethics, social ethics, and human rights. The case studies demonstrate that Indian thought has not ignored deep reflection on ethical problems that are presenting serious challenges to the modern world. They demonstrate that Hinduism has a firm grounding in ethics, even when the most difficult questions are raised.

Explores the history and nature of vrats (ritual fasts) in text and practice, and the roles these rites play in the lives of Hindu women in North India.This is the first book-length study that explores the history and nature of vrats-votive fasting rites-the role these rites play in the religious lives of Hindu women in North India, and the meanings these women attribute to them. By placing vrats within the context of various Hindu religious categories such as concepts of time; types of religious activities; goals; notions of purity and pollution; auspiciousness and inauspiciousness, the book demonstrates how the concept of vrat provides a lens to the Hindu worldview. Accordingly, it offers insight into the nature of Hindu popular religion in general and women's religion in particular.Drawing extensively on the personal narratives of individual women, this study subtly corrects the prevailing view that all women observe vrats solely for the benefit of others. The author shows that Hindu women's sense of duty and obligation to ensure the well-being of their families through the performance of vrats explains only part of the appeal of these rites. The data demonstrate that women also perform vrats for the social, physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits. Not only do vrats provide an avenue for the expression of profound spiritual yearnings, but some women use vrats as a way to gain a measure of control over their own lives, a source of empowerment in an environment in which women frequently lack control and self-determination.

Using a perspective derived from the philosophy of Gianni Vattimo, Frascati-Lochhead explores the response of feminist theology to postmodern theory.This book addresses crucial issues that postmodern theory has raised for feminism and for feminist theology in particular. Postmodern critiques of metaphysics question whether feminism is ultimately foundationalist and essentialist, attributing an essential nature to "woman" and substituting a new metaphysical theory in place of the patriarchal foundationalism of Western thought.Marta Frascati-Lochhead develops this critique of metaphysics through a reading of the Italian philosopher, Gianni Vattimo. She shows how, through his interpretation of Nietzsche and Heidegger, Vattimo characterizes the violence of metaphysical thought and concludes that, for emancipatory thought today, "nihilism" is our "sole opportunity." Through a comparison of Vattimo and Derrida on the question of ontological difference, and with reference to Donna Haraway's feminist analysis of cyborg culture, the author demonstrates how Vattimo's perspective might inform an understanding of sexual difference.Drawing on the connection that Vattimo makes between the dissolution of metaphysics in our time and the Christian understanding of kenosis, the self-emptying of God in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, Frascati-Lochhead examines contemporary feminist theology in order to identify the kenotic movement in its thought. With specific reference to the works of Catherine Keller, Rebecca Chopp, Sallie McFague, and Rosemary Radford Ruether, she shows how contemporary feminist theology belongs to the metaphysical tradition that it would overcome while, at the same time, it moves in an emancipatory, kenotic direction.

This first full-length study of renunication in Sankara's Advaita Vedanta shows that Sankara's position has been misinterpreted by both traditional and modern commentators and brings his actual position to light.This book is the first full-length study of renunciation in Śaṅkara's Advaita Vedānta. It shows that a major misinterpretation occurred concerning Śaṅkara's position on renunciation early within his own tradition, and has persisted amongst modern Indologists. Most interpreters of Śaṅkara understand that he saw the monastic way of living as a sine qua non for full knowledge of the Self and spiritual freedom. But this study brings Śaṅkara's real position to light and shows that, for him, inner renunciation of ego and doership was the only indispensable form of renunciation. Monasticism was quite useful, but not mandatory. Using Śaṅkara's own hermeneutical principles as well as the modern philological approach, Marcaurelle shows the basic processes of interpretation and misinterpretation that can shape fundamental aspects of a spiritual tradition.Included with the work is a discussion of particular interest given the world-wide revival of Eastern forms of meditation: a clarification of Śaṅkara's view of the value of meditation.

An examination of bodhicitta, a key concept in Mahauyauna Buddhism.This book explores an important concept within the Buddhist Mahāyāna tradition, bodhicitta. This term appears frequently in Sanskrit literature relating to the spiritual practices of the bodhisattva in Mahāyāna Buddhism and has been variously translated as "thought of enlightenment" or "desire of enlightenment." Francis Brassard offers a contextual analysis of bodhicitta based on the presuppositions underlying the spiritual practice of the bodhisattva. Since the understanding that emerges involves how one ought to view the process of spiritual transformation, this work contributes to Buddhist psychology and soteriology in particular, and to comparative religions in general. The book surveys the various interpretations of the concept of bodhicitta, analyzes its possible functions in the context of the spiritual path of the aspirant to enlightenment, and discusses an understanding of bodhicitta in the context of the Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra.

Presents stories and commentaries on women saints from the Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, Jewish, Islamic, and Christian traditions.Women Saints in World Religions deepens our understanding of the concept of sainthood, brings to light original material, and presents the first comparative analysis of female sainthood. Using original sources, previously unavailable in English, the book describes the lives of figures considered "saintly" in world religions including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. The implications of this material for the concept of sainthood and for 'women saints' as a cross-cultural category are examined.

Traces the decentered formulation of self at the heart of Paul Ricoeur's philosophy from his earliest works to his most recent.Identifying Selfhood provides the first sustained treatment of the development of Paul Ricoeur's decentered formulation of selfhood from his earliest works to his most recent. For Henry Venema, Ricoeur's affirmation that consciousness is always rooted in the signs, symbols, and texts that precede the hermeneutical project of self-recovery and discovery provides the thread that links all of Ricoeur's philosophical inquiries together. However, as Venema argues, Ricoeur's hermeneutic is caught up in the semantics of identity to such an extent that selfhood is confused and often equated with the textuality of the reflective process and is never dealt with on the intimate level of the reflexive structure of selfhood in relation to otherness. In the end, Ricoeur's formulation of alterity identifies the other within the circle of the self-same.

Traces the decentered formulation of self at the heart of Paul Ricoeur's philosophy from his earliest works to his most recent.Identifying Selfhood provides the first sustained treatment of the development of Paul Ricoeur's decentered formulation of selfhood from his earliest works to his most recent. For Henry Venema, Ricoeur's affirmation that consciousness is always rooted in the signs, symbols, and texts that precede the hermeneutical project of self-recovery and discovery provides the thread that links all of Ricoeur's philosophical inquiries together. However, as Venema argues, Ricoeur's hermeneutic is caught up in the semantics of identity to such an extent that selfhood is confused and often equated with the textuality of the reflective process and is never dealt with on the intimate level of the reflexive structure of selfhood in relation to otherness. In the end, Ricoeur's formulation of alterity identifies the other within the circle of the self-same.

Considers the questions of free will in the great India epic, the Mahabharata.Destiny and Human Initiative in the Mahabharata explores this epic's ongoing polemic regarding free will in the face of destiny. While the belief that human history is governed exclusively by external forces is evident in the Mahabharata, the epic also contains the commanding message of Kr's'n'a that the lives of individuals and societies may, and should indeed, be changed for the better through human initiative. Woods maintains that the resolution of this conundrum emerges from the epic's view of what it is to be a human being. We may harbor ideas about our self-determination and freedom, but the epic reveals that we are not at all free but trapped in a vicious cycle of birth and death that can be broken only when we realize that our precious ego-self with its sense of agency is a mental fiction. The Mahabharata admits to a modicum of freedom in everyday life which, from a higher perspective, is nothing but destiny in disguise.

Considers the questions of free will in the great India epic, the Mahabharata.Destiny and Human Initiative in the Mahabharata explores this epic's ongoing polemic regarding free will in the face of destiny. While the belief that human history is governed exclusively by external forces is evident in the Mahabharata, the epic also contains the commanding message of Kr's'n'a that the lives of individuals and societies may, and should indeed, be changed for the better through human initiative. Woods maintains that the resolution of this conundrum emerges from the epic's view of what it is to be a human being. We may harbor ideas about our self-determination and freedom, but the epic reveals that we are not at all free but trapped in a vicious cycle of birth and death that can be broken only when we realize that our precious ego-self with its sense of agency is a mental fiction. The Mahabharata admits to a modicum of freedom in everyday life which, from a higher perspective, is nothing but destiny in disguise.