Laughter, Creativity, and Perseverance

Female Agency in Buddhism and Hinduism
Erscheinungsjahr 2022
ISBN: 978-0-19-760372-7
Verlag: Sydney University Press

Buch, Englisch, 294 Seiten, Format (B × H): 158 mm x 239 mm, Gewicht: 574 g

Reihe: AAR RELIGION CULTURE AND HISTORY SERIES

In most mainstream traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism, women have for centuries largely been excluded from positions of religious and ritual leadership. However, as this volume shows, in an increasing number of late-20th-century and early-21st-century contexts, women can and do undergo monastic and priestly education; they can receive ordination/initiation as Buddhist nuns or Hindu priestesses; and they are accepted as religious and political leaders. Even though
these processes still take place largely outside or at the margins of traditional religious institutions, it is clear that women are actually establishing new religious trends and currents. They are attracting followers, and they are occupying religious positions on par with men.

At times women are filling a void left behind by male religious specialists who left the profession, and at times they are perceived as their rivals. In some cases, this process takes place in collaboration with male religious specialists, in others against the will of the women's male counterparts. However, in most cases we see both acceptance and resistance. Whether silently or with great fanfare, women are grasping new opportunities to occupy positions of leadership. This book offers ten
in-depth case studies analysing culturally, historically, and geographically unique situations in order to explore the historical background, contemporary trajectories, and impact of the emergence of new and powerful forms of female agency in mostly conservative Hindu and Buddhist religious
traditions.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hüsken, Ute

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Buddhismus
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Sonstige Religionen Sexualität & Gender in den Religionen
• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Ethnologie Kultur- und Sozialethnologie: Allgemeines
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Hinduismus

Über Autor(innen)

Ute Hüsken is Professor and Head of the Department of Cultural and Religious History of South Asia (Classical Indology, South Asia Institute) at Heidelberg University. Hüsken's main research fields are Buddhist studies, the study of Hinduism, Ritual and Festival studies, and Gender studies. Together with Ronald Grimes and Sarah Pike, she edits The Oxford Ritual Studies Series.