ABSTRACT

In an era which many now recognise as ‘post-secular’, the role that religions play in shaping gender identities and relationships has been awarded a renewed status in the study of societies and social change. In both the Global South and the Global North, in the 21st century, religiosity is of continuing significance, not only in people’s private lives and in the family, but also in the public sphere and with respect to political and legal systems. The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Gender and Society is an outstanding reference source to these key topics, problems and debates in this exciting subject area. Comprising over 40 chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into 3 parts:

  • Critical debates for religions, gender and society: theories, concepts and methodologies
  • Issues and themes in religions, gender and society
  • Contexts and locations

Within these sections, central issues, debates and problems are examined, including activism, gender analysis, intersectionality and feminism, oppression and liberation, equality, bodies and embodiment, space and place, leadership and authority, diaspora and migration, marriage and the family, generation and aging, health and reproduction, education, violence and conflict, ecology and climate change and the role of social media.

The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Gender and Society is essential reading for students and researchers in religious studies and gender studies. The Handbook will also be very useful for those in related fields, such as cultural studies, area studies, politics, sociology, anthropology and history.

chapter 1|16 pages

Introduction

The continuing relevance of religion for understanding gender roles, identities and relationships in society

part 1|174 pages

Critical debates for religions, gender and society

chapter 2|18 pages

Gender in religion, religion in society

The agency and identity of Christian women

chapter 3|15 pages

The feminism conundrum

A contested term for the study of religion and gender

chapter 5|21 pages

Gender, religion, and postcolonialism

The Birhen sa Balintawak and masculinities in the Philippines

chapter 7|16 pages

Reclaiming public and digital spaces

The conundrum of acceptance for the feminist movement in Pakistan

chapter 8|17 pages

Social media and online environments

Muslim and Mormon bloggers in the United States of America

chapter 10|12 pages

Bodies and embodiment

The somatic turn in the study of religion and gender

chapter 11|14 pages

Narrative approaches to religion and gender

A biographic study with Christian young men

chapter 12|16 pages

When my work is found wanting

Power, intersectionality, postcolonialism, and the reflexive feminist researcher

part 2|194 pages

Issues and themes in religions, gender and society

chapter 13|15 pages

Butch lesbians, femme queens and promiscuous clergy

Queering the body politics of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa 1

chapter 16|15 pages

Religion and intimate life

Marriage, family, sexuality

chapter 17|12 pages

Age, gender and de-churchisation

chapter 18|14 pages

Gender, religion and childhood

Towards a new research agenda

chapter 19|14 pages

Mothers, bodhisattvas and women of tomorrow

Religiously connoted gender roles in a Buddhist vocational school in Japan

chapter 20|18 pages

Articulating the neoliberal motherhood discourse

Visions of gender in Japanese new religions

chapter 21|14 pages

Women, religion and the state

A gendered analysis of the Catholic Church, the state and the rise of Evangelical Protestantism on women's roles and women's rights in Brazil

chapter 23|12 pages

Religion and sexual violence

chapter 24|14 pages

Religion, gender and international development

Searching for game changers in the midst of polarization

chapter 25|20 pages

A decological way to dialogue

Rethinking ecofeminism and religion

part 3|226 pages

Contexts and locations

chapter 26|15 pages

Religion and gender in Europe

Thinking through politico-social and theoretical challenges

chapter 27|13 pages

Religion and masculinities in Europe

chapter 29|14 pages

Troubling the demonic

Anti-Blackness, heterosexual Black masculinity, and the study of religion in North America

chapter 32|16 pages

Women, religion and social inequality in India

Intersectionality, nationalism and religious change

chapter 33|13 pages

Hindu muscular nationalism

Politicized Hinduism and manhood in India

chapter 34|15 pages

‘A monster had eaten me whole’

Religiously inspired charitable organisations (RICOs) as ‘retreat’ for women in contemporary urban China

chapter 38|15 pages

Exploring tensions

Gender and religion in Sub-Saharan Africa

chapter 39|10 pages

Religions and masculinities in Africa

Power, politics, performance