Religion Essays Feminist Theology

Religion Essays Feminist Theology It has been argued that alternative spirituality movements and alternative religions offer contemporary women greater possibilities of participation in religion and of expression oftheir religiosity. All feminist scholars of religionhighlight the wrongs which have been done to women through the neglect offemale religious experience. They subject misogynistic views of womens natureand their place in the world to critical examination. Feminist theologians therefore, seek to address the injustices whichthey perceive in patriarchal religious traditions, and to offset theirandrocentric bias by making a specific feminist contribution to the study ofreligious traditions. It is this critique of patriarchy and patriarchal religious traditions that has opened the way for the alternative spirituality movements and alternative religions that for some women, provides new and radically different ways for women to express their spirituality. These take vary forms and include the Wiccan movement, the most extreme element of which rejects any forms of patriarchal discourse and any involvement of women in religious practices that involve male participation, the Goddess movement and Eco-spirituality. Thispaper will investigate the view that the development of what has been callednew age religion and alternative spirituality movements offer contemporarywomen greater participation in religion and in expressing their religiositywith examples from the Goddess movement and from the Eco-feminist movement. Feminisms influence on the Emergence of Different Spiritualities Fromthe late 1960s onwards what became known as feminist theology emerged. Womencriticised what they saw as the male-centred theology of patriarchal religionand this led feminist theologian Rosemary Radford-Ruether to write: The uniqueness of feminist theology lies not inits use of the criteria of experience but rather in its use of womensexperience, which has been almost entirely shut out of theological reflectionin the past. The use of womens experience in feminist theology, therefore,explodes as a critical force, exposing classical theology, including itscodified traditions, as based on male experience rather than on universal humanexperience (Ruether, 1992:13). Thiswas an expression of what these feminists had been saying for years, that womenneeded to find ways in which they could speak of their own religiousexperiences and as women express their spirituality in terms that feltcomfortable for them. For many women this meant a complete rejection oftraditional religion and a move towards specifically women-centredspiritualities eg Carol Christs 1986 Womenspirit Rising. Goddess Movements Hanegraff(1996) contends that new spiritualities such as the Goddess Movement are rootedin the ancient pagan traditions of occultism and witchcraft. He contends thatthis has influenced the development of New Age womens spiritualities ingeneral, although he regards the term spiritualities as diffuse. He claims thatwomens spirituality, Goddess movements and Wicca tend to blend in together,although it could be argued that there may be some women who own a goddessspirituality who may not subscribe to Wiccan views. This is particularly thecase with the womens spirituality movement that lies within theJudaeo-Christian tradition (see for example Plaskow, 1989). This movement isalso evident in other traditions such as Islam and Hinduism and the idea is todiscover neglected elements within the tradition that express womens religiousexperience. Some women say that these elements have been deliberately neglectedor covered up by the male interpreters of patriarchal religions (see SchusslerFioren za 1984, Mernissi, 1991 and Gupta 1991). While they emphasise thattranscendence can be seen as goddess rather than a god and worshipped as suchthey do not equate this with pagan Goddess worship (Hanegraff, 1996). However,Hanegraff contends that the boundaries between these things are extremelyblurred and that in some cases in the historical traditions there is so muchemphasis on the primacy of experience that the result is no concrete idea ofwho or what the goddess that is being worshipped and in some areas the experientialnature can take extreme forms. Thus he argues: spiritual growth leads to connection with a Higher Power-theGod/Goddess within and without, Christ, Allah, Buddah and All-That-is. Thistheology easily assimilates all personal perspectives on God as equallyvalid.prominence over others is rejected as reflecting a limitedconsiousness..and is lacking in authentic religious experience (Hanegraff, 1996:185). Hanegraff contends that this reflects a view thatsays that those who hold it are not sure who or what God is. However, this maybe a reaction to the reification of God concepts that takes place inpatriarchal thinking, most particularly within the Judaeo-Christian tradition(Daly, 1982). Yet Goddess worshippers within the traditions are conscious ofthe importance of symbolism. Feminists say that it needs to berecognised that symbolism is important to women because they themselves havebeen symbolised. As Daly argues women have been presented with masculineconcepts of themselves which are symbolic of mens fear of the feminine. Thisis evident in maternal and virginal representations in Christianity, and in thedistorted images of Kali in Hinduism (Gupta, 1991). Women do need to find theirown way of relating to the religious symbolic and perhaps this means that theyare nervous of committing the same mistakes as patriarchal tradition andreducing transcendence to an object. King (1995 contends that although symbolscan be male, female, or androgynous, most of the worlds religious traditionshave taken the male as normative and used the symbolism to uphold maledominance in the religious and social structure. In the same way Carol Christ(1980) has argued that masculine symbolism has been so damaging for women thatthe only response women can make is to adopt purely feminine symbols and toworship the Goddess. It is her view that this is the only way that women canassert their own gendered identity in a patriarchal society. Thus she writes, Religioncentered on the worship of a male God creates moods and motivations thatkeep women in a state of psychological dependence on men and male authority,while at the same time legitimating the political and social authority offathers and sons in the institute of society (1980:275). Goddessworshippers Hanegraff (1996) argues are concerned to express the fact that thewhole of reality is permeated by the Goddess while at the same timeinvestigating the historical roots of Goddess worship both with and without thetraditions. King (1995) maintains that along with the Goddess movement there isalso a lot of work in the area of ecology, or eco-feminism, particularlyRuethers 1992 work, Gaia and God. Eco-Feminism The work ofeco-feminists such as (Mcfague, 1987, Ruether, 1992 et al) stems from a newconcern for global issues and the way in which human beings have treated theearth. Ruether uses the Gaia principle taken from science, and takes theposition that the earth is our sacred mother we come from it and return to ityet throughout history humankind have damaged the earth and other forms of lifethat exist here. Sallie McFague 1987 has argued that patriarchal the religionsthat have oppressed women have also dominated the earth. They have taken thebiblical saying that man should have dominion over the earth and all that is init so literally that they have come close to destroying Gods gifts. McFaguerefers in her work to the earth as Gods body, the earth, she maintains is ametaphor for the body of God. In Models of God (1987)McFague argues that the metaphor of the world as Gods body would not just helpto repair the relationship that human beings have with the earth, but wouldalso help to dispel some of the hierarchical images of God that exist withinthe Christian tradition. Thus she writes, The metaphor of the world asGods body puts God at risk (McFague, 1987:73). God is seen asvulnerable when God is such an intimate part of creation. The earth, therefore,is among the oppressed. It suffers with us and if the world is seen as the bodyof God, then God may be seen as suffering with Gods people. McFagues Modelsof God are metaphors that allow both the transcendental as well asthe ethical nature of God to emerge. Hanegraff (1996) maintains that: The ecological crisis has beencreated by a society based on fundamentally flawed presuppositions. Humanityhas to change its way of thinking perceiving and acting, and then it willhopefully still be possible to heal the world (Hanegraaf, 1996:118). Conclusion Clearlyalternative spiritualities seem to be the way forward for many women to expresstheir religiosity, nevertheless, there are still women who, despite patriarchaloppression, remain with their inherited faith traditions and struggle to freeit from patriarchal restraint. It would seem to me that there has always beensome concern for the female in religious imagery e.g. the person of Mary inCatholicism and the many Goddesses of Hinduism. In a sense there have alwaysbeen these alternatives and I would say that the emergence of second wavefeminism in the late 1960s and their critique of all things patriarchal is whathas brought these alternatives to the fore. The higher profile of thesespiritualities is necessary so that all women feel able to choose how theyexpress their spiritual experiences. Bibliography Christ,C (1980) DivingDeep and Surfacing, Women Writers on a Spiritual Crest, Beacon Press,Boston Daly, M (1982) BeyondGod The Father, 2nd EditionThe Womens Press, London Fiorenza, E(1984) In Memory of Her, SPCK, London Gupta, L (1991)Kali the Saviour, in Cooey, P, Eakin, W, McDaniel, J (eds.) (1991) AfterPatriarchy: Feminist Transformationsof World Religions,Orbis, New York Hanegraaff (1996) New AgeReligion and Western Culture New York, Brill. King, U (ed.)(1994) Feminist Theology From the Third World, SPCK, London McFague, S(1987) Models of God, SPCK, London Plaskow, J(1993) We are also your sisters: The development of womens studies inreligion, Womens Studies Quarterly, XXI, 12 p. 9-21 Ruether, R(1992} Gaia and God, SCM, London

Peter I (The Great) Essay -- essays research papers fc

Peter I, was born to Alexis Romanov and his second wife Natalia Naryshkina. Peter grew up in a turbulent period of Russian history. His father’s early death at the age of thirty-one left a bitter struggle for power between the family of Alexis’s first wife’s family, the Miloslavskaias, and Peter’s family. A brief period of reign by Peter’s half brother Fedor (1676-1682) was followed by his half sister Sofia assuming control of Russia as regent from 1682-1689. During this time Peter and his half brother, Ivan V, waited as co-Czars until they came of age. Meanwhile Peter spent many of his formative years in the country estate of Preobrazhenskoe, just outside of Moscow. It was here that Peter fostered his love of warfare, and had his first contact with Westerners. Rather than being educated in the traditional manner, Peter was allowed to play war games. From an assortment of commoners, courtiers, and foreigners Peter formed two regiments, the Preobrazhenskii and Semenovskii, which he outfitted with real weaponry and drilled into what would later become his imperial guard. Also during this time, Peter developed two other passions. The first was sailing, which he first came in contact with by discovering an old English sailboat. The second was the love of all things Western, which came from his frequent visits to the nearby foreign quarter of Moscow. By 1689 Peter had grown to the towering height of six feet seven inches, and was armed with a quick mind and boundless ambition. At...

I Love College Essay

I Love College by Asher Roth is considered 2009’s college anthem. A dance song about college parties, complete with under-age drinking, possible date rape, and the lack of focus on academics, I Love College is on most teenagers’ iPod playlist, especially the teenagers who are planning on going to college in the fall. I Love College by Asher Roth is not only degrading to women and sends the message to impressionable teenagers that women are only for men’s enjoyment. The lyrics of I Love College are offensive, to say the least, to all college students, not only women. The lyrics imply that all a college student does is go to parties and drink. However, women suffer the most because of these lyrics. This song is a prime example of men taking advantage of women. For example, the chorus of this song details how a college student went to a party, got drunk and high, got a girl â€Å"completely naked†, and did it all over again the next night. This song, because of its catchy beat, sends the message to teenagers that this behavior is acceptable, and it implies that every college student acts this way. The music video for I Love College could be considered more offensive than the lyrics. The music video opens with a man standing up from sitting on a couch, pushing a girl, who is passed out, off of him. The next view the video shows of women is a group of girls, half nude, playing what appears to be strip poker. Throughout the video, Asher Roth kisses many different women, all of them wanting to be near him. The only image of women that viewers get from this music video is women undressing; this is all the women in this video did. To impressionable young people getting ready for college, this video, along with the lyrics, send the message that men are superior to women, and that women are only there for men’s entertainment. The lyrics and music video for I Love College also sends the message that college is for partying and taking advantage of others, not for studying for a career, for a successful future. The lyrics and music video put women in a degrading light, portraying them as toys for men’s pleasure. This sends the wrong message to teenagers. The future of the American society is in trouble if these are the messages young people are getting through the entertainment they love so much.

Causes Of Political Violence Essays - Crime, Psychiatric Diagnosis

Causes Of Political Violence Essays - Crime, Psychiatric Diagnosis Causes Of Political Violence Political violence is like a festering wound, in that, without the aid of antibiotics the wound has the potential to depress the immune system and eventually overwhelm the individual, leading to death. In this analogy, antibiotics could represent forces that are always looking for the rogue virus's bent on the destruction of the whole body (society). I often wonder why people resort to violence, of any kind, to solve a particular problem. Questions can be asked of the individual(s) involved in carrying out the attacks, but the questions never seem to be answered in a way that will show why violence is needed to resolve conflict. Rather, excuses are rendered in the hopes that by the logic used in explaining why conflict must be resolved, this will justify the actions. This leads, though, to a sort of circular argument. For example, in the case of Saddam Hussein (put aside the fact that he is the president of a nation) is an idiot. Why exactly he felt it was justifiable to invade a cou ntry, who at the time had an OK relationship with the United States, and then think the US and/or other countries would allow him to forcibly occupy that country. Whatever his logic, his actions were not justifiable. I believe his logic was as follows: Something happened to his country (economically, socially, politically etc.) that he did not like or want to happen. Hussein decided to adopt the eye-for-an-eye approach to conflict resolution. Except he changed the rules and instead of responding in a like manner consistent with eye-for-an-eye, he went over board with his reaction. He forcibly invaded a country. I use the Persian Gulf War as a recent example of reasons for why people resolve conflict not through peaceful means but through violent actions. Iraq is not the only country in the system to use this type of logic when tackling an issue that is perceived to have only one avenue of approach to resolution: war. It seems that every, or nearly every, state in the world will resort to brute force to make a point. This then begs the question of, why? I will explore some of the popular assumptions for why people act as they do and try to come to some sort of agreement which we may all universally agree upon. Sederberg explains four of the most popular explanations for violence and revolution and points out some of the flaws in the arguments. The first explanation I will talk about is the Killer Ape Thesis, which basically states that humans are biologically programmed toward violence and that because we are programmed in this way, this is an explanation for the cause of violence. Sederberg also points out that certain questions need to be answered before anything else can be argued, such as what causes discontent? In the killer ape thesis discontent is a moot point. If we are in fact programmed toward violence than discontent should not be an issue. To say that hereditary genes toward violence are passed from one generation to another is to say we have no choice in the matter of violence. We would, simply, all be vicious killers with no way of not being otherwise. Discontent, however, is something humans can turn on and off, like anger, sadness, or happiness. The killer ape thesis is gre at in explaining violence but not in explaining the inclination toward violent expression (Sederberg 102). Clearly, biological factors do not incline us towards violence, but the Cherry Pie Thesis does in some way explain why we are violent. Sederberg describes the cherry pie thesis as one where biology or heredity may play no part in trying to explain why humans are prone to violence. He says that we are violent because of our culture. That is, we are violent because of, say, where we live or the era in which we grew up or the economic status we hold. This thesis though, like the killer ape thesis, is circular in its logic. Society may cause discontent among citizens but only with respect to history. For example, England and Ireland have been at war with each other for some time now; each fights the other

Censorship s essays

Censorship s essays Censorship, so far as I see it, is like a law which prohibits swimming altogether because such a law will prevent someone from swimming in a sewer (Brower 1). Here, in the twenty- first century, the banning of thoughts and ideas in humanities and media has become one of the most widely disputed issues facing this country. Though it is highly controversial, hazardous to literature, and unconstitutional, censorship is rampant in America. Censorship is defined as Policy of restricting the public expression of ideas, opinions, conceptions, and impulses, which have or are believed to have the capacity to undermine the governing authority or the social and moral order which that authority considers itself bound to protect (Abraham 357). There is said to be four different categories, which are referred to as political, religious, against obscenity, and censorship affecting academic freedom. All of these categories are equal in their destructiveness towards free speech. There are two different forms that censorship takes; prior, which refers to advance suppression and post facto which is suppression after it has been published (Brower 5). Authorities since the beginning of the written word have used both of these forms of censorship. Throughout history, figures that dont have the real power to censor resort to personal pressure tactics to intimidate those who have influence over, or in command of, channels of communication. The McCarthy era during the 1940s and 1950s is a compelling example of this. During this time there was blacklisting of controversial literary figures as well as performing artists, thus blocking their employment in certain media such as movies, radio, and television. By doing this they accomplished the task of preventing the public from seeing what they considered to be objectionable material (Dubin 27). There are many rationalizations that are use...

Management practices of planning, staffing, leading, organizing, and Term Paper

Management practices of planning, staffing, leading, organizing, and controlling implemented in the workplace - Term Paper Example After noting the vital aspects of each management staff, the stakeholders find it appropriate to engage the qualified personnel in running a firm. Similarly, the selected employees to manage the organization have to be experienced, motivated and focused individuals (Hannagan and Bennett, 2008). If this is not done, the stakeholders may run into losses, as the coordination of all the management processes may not be functional. In many instances, the stakeholders engage both external and internal training to equip the management with vital knowledge. Through the training, the managers also acquire ample skills to help in coordinating the management practices. In essence, the Management practices of planning, staffing, leading, organizing, and controlling in an organization are vital, as they have direct effect on the [performance of the organization. To begin with, the first management practice that has an effect on the performance of an organization is planning. Planning involves forecasting on various aspects that may affect the sustainability of the firm. First, the planning process involves forecasting on the intended expenditure of the form. Firms have to make allocations in concern to their expenditure, probably for a whole year. As such, they have to involve all the accountants and financial managers who reiterate the proposed expenditure for the firm. Secondly, the firm has to plan for the proposed expansion plans in ensuring the firm is improving its market niche (Leonard, 2013). For instance, in my previous work place, planning for investments in new markets was an approach that enhanced the market niche of the company. This is especially due to the nature of the products, which are highly needed in new markets. Since the company deals in technological appliances, finding new markets is appropriate for business sustain ability. Thirdly, the management should involve planners, especially in concern to unforeseen circumstances. At times, the unforeseen

MK 491 Seminar in Marketing-Report Research Paper

MK 491 Seminar in Marketing-Report - Research Paper Example Since then it has literally transformed to a giant firm employing over 10,000 people. Google Inc. is a household name for their search engine service. Google has become so big now that it has almost become a new word in English language. Research Question The Research question posed here is discussion of the product, pricing, promotion and distribution strategies adopted by Google Inc. Literature Review Google Inc. is one of the top technology companies in the world. It offers a range of products and services which caters to the needs of the users. This company is present across different domain in the Internet and most of the consumers use their products and services in everyday life. Google hence uses different strategies to market their diverse products and services. Since they offer such diverse set of products and services, they use different market segmentation strategy to reach out to their consumer base. Their positioning strategy has to be prefect so that they live up to con sumers demands. Similarly their pricing and distribution strategy has to be developed to make them be on profit terms with other competitors. Analysis and Findings Overall business and marketing strategy of Google For Google their biggest success factor is the search engine which they have created. Google alone earns millions of rupees through advertisements. For Google information gathering is the key to their success. It makes all the products and services in such a way that it caters to all the segments in the market. This makes non-profit and private use by users absolutely free of cost. The founders of Google have a strong liking to education and libraries. The atmosphere of the company is like a university where continuous research and analysis of their product and services are done. They strive continuously for better search methods so that more useful information is available to the consumers through as many means as possible. Hence all the employees are encouraged to create something new and are rewarded for their effort through means like freedom with work hours, free meals, competitive pay etc. It organizes Annual Code Jam international competition which aims at solving the mind racing problems, and the winner is given large amounts of money. This helps them to find bright new employees. Hence Google primary business strategy is the innovation which the innovation in their products and services which they brings in front of the consumers. They have been largely successful at their overall business strategy. Segmentation strategy The segmentation strategy of Google is very diverse. Google has a diverse product line and hence it is present everywhere to cater to a number of users worldwide. For instance Google Search and other products are available to users at over 110 languages and it is still expanding (Anderson, Lazarus, Loftsgaarden and Weiss, 2003). According to a survey conducted in United States it was seen that their Search Engine was popular among users less than 34 years of age. Among them 55% of the users are male. Their users are predominantly technologically adept. Most of the users are business professionals. Again the products like Google plus, Google hangout, Picasa indicate that they are targeting the young peoples who are in their colleges and like to engage in social networking. One of the best Google products is the YouTube