Priestess, Mother, Sacred Sister: Religions Dominated by Women

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In this fascinating and path-breaking work, Susan Starr Sered uncovers, describes, and analyzes religions scattered throughout the world in which women are both the majority of leaders and the majority of participants. How are these women's religions different from those dominated by men? What can we learn from them about the ways in which women experience and interpret the supernatural? Under what conditions is women's religious dominance likely to occur? Looking for common threads linking groups as diverse as the Sande secret societies of West Africa, Matrilineal Spirit cults of Northern Thailand, Christian Science, and the Feminist Spirituality movement, Sered asks whether there is anything particularly "womanly" about women's religions. Offering a new understanding of the role gender plays in determining how individuals grapple with the ultimate conditions of existence, "Priestess, Mother, Sacred Sister" not only explores differences between men and women, but the equally important ways in which we are all alike. scribes, and analyzes religions scattered throughout the world in which women are both the majority of leaders and the majority of participants. How are these women's religions different from those dominated by men? What can we learn from them about the ways in which women experience and interpret the supernatural? Under what conditions is women's religious dominance likely to occur? Looking for common threads linking groups as diverse as the Sande secret societies of West Africa, Matrilineal Spirit cults of Northern Thailand, Christian Science, and the Feminist Spirituality movement, Sered asks whether there is anything particularly "womanly" about women's religions. Offering a new understanding of the role gender plays in d

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Susan Starr Sered is the author of Women as Ritual Experts, and is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.

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"Marvellous....Fascinating and insightful."--Ross Shepard Kraemer, author of Her Share of the Blessings