Priestess, Mother, Sacred Sister [electronic resource] : Religions Dominated by Women
Sered, Susan Starr.
New York ; Oxford : Oxford University Press,
1994.
In this fascinating and pathbreaking work--the first comparative study of women's religions--Susan Starr Sered explores the meaning of religion in women's lives through the centuries and across the globe--from Korean shamanism, nineteenth-century Spiritualists, and the Sande secret societies of West Africa to Christian Science, the Caribs of Belize, and the contemporary Feminist Spirituality movement. Looking for a common thread linking these diverse groups, Sered finds that motherhood and motherly concerns play a vital role in these female-dominated groups. Religion not only enables women to 
Description based upon print version of record.
CONTENTS; Introduction; 1 The Examples; 2 The Social Contexts of Women's Religions: Gender Disjunction, Matrifocality, and a Critique of Deprivation Theory; 3 Maternity and Meaning; 4 When Children Die; 5 Misfortune, Suffering, and Healing; 6 Rituals and Relationships; 7 The Sacred in the Profane; 8 No Father in Heaven: Androgyny and Polydeism; 9 Summoning the Spirits; 10 Gender Ideology; 11 Leaders and Experts; 12 Women, Sacred Texts, and Religious Organization; 13 Spiritual Gifts and Secular Benefits; Conclusion; APPENDIX A: Alphabetical Summaries of Key Examples
APPENDIX B: Alphabetical Summaries of Auxiliary ExamplesREFERENCES ; Key Examples; General; INDEX; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W; X; Y; Z
In this fascinating and pathbreaking work--the first comparative study of women's religions--Susan Starr Sered explores the meaning of religion in women's lives through the centuries and across the globe--from Korean shamanism, nineteenth-century Spiritualists, and the Sande secret societies of West Africa to Christian Science, the Caribs of Belize, and the contemporary Feminist Spirituality movement. Looking for a common thread linking these diverse groups, Sered finds that motherhood and motherly concerns play a vital role in these female-dominated groups. Religion not only enables women to 
Description based on print version record.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Religion - General
Religion
Philosophy & Religion