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Women and Religion |
All of the major world religions deprecate women to some degree. This page archives texts which relate specifically to women and religion from a female perspective. This includes historic feminist texts on the topic, texts about Goddess-oriented sprituality and Amazons, as well as texts from otherwise male-dominated religions in the same vein. As might be expected, there are far fewer of these than might be desired.
Feminism
Vindication of the Rights Of Womanby Mary Wollstonecraft [1792]
The Subjection of Womenby John Stuart Mill [1869]
Clothed With The Sunby Anna Kingsford [1889]
The mystical visions of a pioneering woman occultist.
The Garden of Eden; or The Paradise Lost & Foundby Victoria Claflin Woodhull [1890]
A radical reinterpretation of Eden as an allegory for the human body.
Woman, Church, and Stateby Matilda Joslyn Gage [1893]
One of the earliest feminist historians.
The Woman's Bibleby Elizabeth Cady Stanton [1895]
19th Century feminists critique the Bible.
Woman and the New Raceby Margaret Sanger [1920]
The pioneering birth control activist.
Roe v. WadeUS Supreme Court Decision [1973]
The highest court in the US affirms a woman's right to control her body.
Abortion in the Bibleby J.B. Hare [2008]
Suprisingly, there is no mention of medical abortion in the Bible.
Women Warriors and Heroines
The Amazonsby Guy Cadogan Rothery [1910]
Behind the global myths of woman warriors.
Religious Cults Associated with the Amazonsby Florence Mary Bennett [1912]
Lives of the Greek Heroinesby Louisa Menzies [1880]
The Authoress of the Odyssey,
by Samuel Butler [1922]Did a woman write one of the greatest epic poems of all time?
The Ancient Irish Goddess of Warby WM Hennessey, Revue Celtique, Vol. 1, pp. 27-55 [1870]
Goddesses
The Syrian Goddess
Lucian of Samosata, tr. by Herbert A. Strong [1913]
Lucian's hair-raising description of ancient Goddess worship.
Ancient Near East
The Burden of Isis
by James Teackle Dennis [1910]
Hymns to Isis, a primary Ancient Egyptian Goddess.
Ancient Egyptian
Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes
by W.D. Westervelt [1916]
Read about the powerful Hawaiian Fire Goddess Pele, who lives in a volcano and surfs on lava.
A old Hawaiian saying: "never mistreat an old woman, she
might be Pele in disguise".
Polynesian
Hymn to DemeterHomer, tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White [1914]
A central Goddess myth, the canonical hymn of the Eleusinian initiatory mysteries. Classical Pagan
The Poems of SapphoClassical Pagan; particularly her Hymn to Aphrodite
Descent of Ishtar into the Lower World.Ancient Near East
Aradia, Gospel of the Witchestr. by Charles G. Leland [1899]
The sole written evidence for Dianic worship into modern times. Of controversial authorship. Late European Wiccan
Hymn to the All-Motherfrom Rig Veda Americanus (Aztec Hymns), by Daniel G. Brinton [1890]
Aztec
Hymns to the Goddessby Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) [1913]
A collection of Hindu devotional hymns to the Goddess. India
Hymn to Kâlî: Karpûrâdi-Stotraby Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) [1922]
A Tantric hymn to the Hindu Goddess Kali. India
Lalita Sahasranama; The 1000 Names of the Goddesstr. Rishi Singh Gherwal [1930]
A well-loved Hindu chant extolling the thousand attributes of the Goddess. Hindu
The Devî Gita (excerpt from)
The S'rîmad Devî Bhâgawatamtr. by Swami Vijnanananda (Hari Prasanna Chatterji) [1921]
The Hindu religion is one of the only major world religions other than Neopaganism which today worships Goddesses. In this insightful text the Goddess (the Devî) describes her nature and means of devotion to her. Hindu
Hymn to the Goddess of DawnRig Veda, Book 6, Hymn 64. Hindu
The Hopi Origin Mythfrom The Traditions of the Hopi, by H.R. Voth [1905]
The Goddess Huruing Wuhti co-creates the world with the Sun God. Hopi
Myths of Crete and Pre-Hellenic Europeby Donald A. Mackenzie [1917]
The ancient Minoans of Crete are believed by many to have been Goddess worshippers. Ancient Crete
The Book of the Goddessby Anna Livia Plurabelle [2002]
The Korana of Mother Goddess
by JoAnne Marie [2006]
Feminist Utopian Fiction
Unveiling a Parallelby Alice Ilgenfritz Jones and Ella Merchant [1893]
A trip to Mars, to a strange society which practices equality of the sexes.
Herlandby Charlotte Perkins Stetson Gilman [1906]
Visit a land where women are the only gender, reproduce asexually, and worship a goddess. Classic of feminist scifi.
Other Religions
Folk-Lore of Womenby Thomas Firminger Thiselton-Dyer [1906]
A droll Victorian review of folklore about women around the world.
Thanks to Eliza Yetter of sacredspiral.com.
Shaker DocumentsThe Shakers, a unique 19th Century American Christian group founded by Ann Lee, believed that God has both male and female aspects.
The Kabbalah Unveiledtr. by S.L. MacGregor Mathers [1912]
Jewish mysticism is much more balanced in its treatment of male/female dualities than 'mainstream' Judeo-Christian thought. For instance, see this chapter. This translation of the Zohar by S.L. MacGregor Mathers is dedicated to Anna Kingsford and Edward Maitland, the author and editor respectively of Clothed with the Sun (above).
Baha'i religion: Women
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