Feminism and eastern religions

1. Anderson, Pamela Sue. A Feminist Philosophy of Religion. Blackwell Pub., 1997.

Feminist philosophy of religion as a subject of study has developed in recent years because of the identification and exposure of explicit sexism in much of the traditional philosophical thinking about religion. This struggle with a discipline shaped almost exclusively by men has led feminist philosophers to redress the problematic biases of gender, race, class and sexual orientation of the subject. Anderson and Clack bring together new and key writings on the core topics and approaches to this growing field. Each essay exhibits a distinctive theoretical approach and appropriate insights from the fields of literature, theology, philosophy, gender and cultural studies. Beginning with a general introduction, part one explores important approaches to the feminist philosophy of religion, including psychoanalytic, poststructualist, postmetaphysical, and epistemological frameworks. In part two the authors survey significant topics including questions of divinity, embodiment, autonomy and spirituality, and religious practice. Supported by explanatory prefaces and an extensive bibliography which is organized thematically, "Feminist Philosophy of Religion" is an important resource for this new area of study.




2. Jeffery, Patricia and Amrita Basu, ed. Appropriating Gender: Women's Activism and Politicized Religion in South Asia.


"Appropriating Gender: Women's Agency, the State, and Politicized Religion in South Asia" is a comprehensive collection of essays that examines the role of women in fundamentalist movements, as well as the gender policies of these movements and of the South Asian states in which they operate. Divided into three sections, Part I examines gender, nation, and the state; Part II the "Everyday and the Local"; and Part III the dynamics of agency and activism in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. "Appropriating Gender" is the first work to address fundamentalism from a woman's perspective, and is sure to become a classic in the fast-growing field of gender studies.




3. Women's Buddhism, Buddhism's Women: Tradition, Revision, Renewal By Ellison Banks Findly
Women's Buddhism, Buddhism's Women is a diverse array of scholars, activists, and practitioners explore how women are bringing about change in the forms, practices, and institutions of Buddhism.





4. Feminism And Islam: Legal And Literary Perspective. By Yamani, Mai
In an age when Western feminism is undergoing redefinition, this book offers to the worldwide debate sixteen contributions from the surprising setting of Muslim countries. These studies address the feminist modes of expression in relation to, or as a challenge to, Islamic laws and traditions.


5. Feminism and World Religions By Arvind Sharma, Katherine K. Young
Leading women scholars address their own traditions as they explore seven world religions in this unprecedented feminist treatment.