Buy essay on Female Divine Article: “Representing the Divine: Feminism and Religious Anthropology” by Victoria S. Harrison

Victoria Harrison’s article Representing the Divine: Feminism and Religious Anthropology (Harrison, 2007) discusses the image of female in the religious consciousness of the past, present and future.
The Laws of Manu, the Bible (Ephesians, V: 22-23), the Koran (Sura IV, verse 38) sanctified the unequal position of women in the society, and therefore, the assertion that religion is not sexless, but masculine, seems well justified. The patriarchal character of social relations was almost never in doubt for many centuries: the religious right and institutions were adamant guardians and guarantors of the patriarchal world order. The movement against discrimination has become irreversible only in the 20th century, with its steady growth of involvement of women in the sphere of social production. So, the main question is whether it is possible to reorganize world and national religions in order to promote social progress, a component of which is elimination of discrimination against women.
Some most conservative-minded theorists consider such “restructuring” inappropriate and contradicting to the spirit of religion as such. Others are ready to reform the traditional doctrine to some extent. Hindu reformers succeeded in lifting a number of religious orders and even legislatively banned some of them (e.g., in 1829, the practice of self-immolation of widows was banned). Muslim reformers decided to mitigate the requirements for institutionalized polygamy, one-sided men’s rights to divorce, compulsory wearing of hijab. The greatest level of the reform movement has been achieved in the Christian world, where the admission of women to the church hierarchy is now allowed.
However, Christianity is still a “male religion” supporting the persistence of stereotypes that discriminate against women, such as: 1) male image of God; 2) idea of divine predestination of slave position of women; 3) spread of symbols expressing men’s ideas about sex thought the images of Meretrix, Virgin, and Mother; and 4) the “divine proof” of the lower nature of women contained in the epistles of the Apostle Paul.
In opposition to these stereotypes, the idea of creating “feminist religion” or “feminine spirituality” is worked out, in which dichotomous worldview of patriarchal religions is opposed by the integrity and mono-existence inherent in the women’s worldview. In feminist religious consciousness, God is contrasted with the feminine Divine. Patriarchal myths are replaced by matriarchal mythology, idealizing the system based on the factual dominance of women. This extreme opposition is positive in the sense of contribution to the awakening of female consciousness and promotion of social recovery process. At the same time, it has hidden dangers: movements based on quicksand mythology are influenced by various political orientations, including the most reactionary ones.
Thus, none of the present alternatives to take stock of the religious foundation under a fundamentally new social status of women is satisfying or perspective. Reformism within the boundaries of patriarchal religions has its limits, going beyond which is impossible, because this would mean the destruction of the fundamental concepts, cementing the foundation of beliefs. In its turn, feminist religion mythologizes over non-realistic facts, because the relocation of the dominant and the subordinate will not make the humanity freer or happier.
The author supposes that the way out lies in finding a new, truly universal type of religiosity, one of the most important elements of which will be the religious consciousness overcoming boundaries of not only religious differences, but also gender ones. The way to this kind of universal religion could lie in the religious movement common to all faiths without exception, i.e. to mysticism presenting the “perfect man” as a person oriented not at the rigid normative regulation of the society, church, etc., but at the realization of the “divine principle” pledged in every man. The religious consciousness of the future humanity could also find other ways of its reformation. In all cases, the author expresses hope that it would be able to free itself from the restrictions of both patriarchal and matriarchal past.

References:

Harrison, V.S. (2007). Representing the Divine: Feminism and Religious Anthropology. Feminist Theology, 16, 128 – 146.