Religion
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Abstract
Much that has been written on women in religion within the last few years criticizes religion as the basis of patriarchal power in our society. A steady flow of religious writings in praise of woman as virgin or wife or mother continues to appear, but I shall not discuss them. Instead, I will focus on those materials that criticize the religious traditions and find them to be our most deep-seated cause of patriarchy. Underlying many such articles and books is the question, Can one remain within the Christian or Jewish traditions once one becomes conscious of sexism? Most of the women and men writing critically about this subject today answer that question in the affirmative. However, they find themselves struggling with the patriarchal nature of these traditions: the image of God as father, the Incarnation as male, the masculine type of authority exercised in religious institutions, and the association of women with uncleanness. A few writers have answered no to religions. They have renounced their former beliefs and are now exploring new religious formulas. For them the question is, Can one create a new religion out of the materials of a patriarchal tradition? Given the radical nature of both questions, it is not surprising that the literature is largely exploratory, far from a systematics or a summa on the female aspect of religion. I will discuss recent publications as they range from a positive defense of biblical tradition to a "post-Christian" exploration of new theological concepts. Because little has appeared on Judaism, this report must concentrate primarily on Christian writers.