Contemporary Encounters in Gender and Religion

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvii

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2. Contemporary Encounters in Gender and Religion: Introduction

   • Lena Gemzöe, Marja-Liisa Keinänen

   Pages 1-28

3. Studying Gender and Religion: A Reflexive Perspective

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 29-29

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   2. Can There Be Religion Without Gender?

      • Jill Dubisch

      Pages 31-51

4. Feminist Perspectives on Male Religious Worlds and Masculinization Studies of Religion

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 53-53

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   2. Feminist Reflections on the Study of the Feminization and Masculinization of Religion

      • Marja-Liisa Keinänen

      Pages 55-75

   3. Working the Way to Santiago de Compostela: Masculinities and Spiritualities of Capitalism

      • Lena Gemzöe

      Pages 77-101

5. Beyond the Religious Woman as ‘Other’: Gender, Sexuality and Religious Diversity

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 103-103

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   2. Gender and Citizenship: Governing Muslim Body Covering in Europe

      • Birgit Sauer

      Pages 105-129

   3. Navigating Equality: Religious Young Women’s Perceptions of Gender and Sexuality Equality

      • Sarah-Jane Page

      Pages 131-150

   4. Sharing Experiences of ‘Suspect Communities’ in Britain: Irish Catholic and Muslim Women’s ‘Voices in Harmony’

      • Lyn Thomas

      Pages 151-171

6. Alternative Spirituality—Alternative Subjectivity?

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 173-173

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   2. Desire for Enchanted Bodies: The Case of Women Engaging in Angel Spirituality

      • Terhi Utriainen

      Pages 175-193

   3. From Angel in the Home to Sacred Prostitute: Unconditional Love and Gendered Hierarchies in Contemporary Spirituality

      • Anna Fedele, Kim Knibbe

      Pages 195-216

7. Body, Space and Movement: Shifting Perspectives

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 217-217

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   2. Gendered Spaces and Practice, Relationality and Authority at the Marian Shrine of Ta’ Pinu, Gozo, Malta

      • Avril Maddrell

      Pages 219-240

   3. Caring and Connecting: Reworking Religion, Gender and Families in Post-Migration Life

      • Catrien Notermans, Maya Turolla, Willy Jansen

      Pages 241-258

   4. ‘For Those with Hardened Hearts’: Female Mysticism, Masculine Piety and the Divine Mercy Devotion

      • Alana Harris

      Pages 259-281

8. Feminist Theology as ‘Religious Other’? Locating, Teaching and Theorizing

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 283-283

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   2. The History of Feminist Theology in the Academy: An Autoethnographic Research Journey

      • Heather Walton

      Pages 285-305

The fields of gender and religious studies have often been criticized for neglecting to engage with one another, and this volume responds to this dearth of interaction by placing the fields in an intimate dialogue. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach and drawing on feminist scholarship, the book undertakes theoretical and empirical explorations of relational and co-constitutive encounters of gender and religion. Through varied perspectives, the chapters address three interrelated themes: religion as practice, the relationship between religious practice and religion as prescribed by formal religious institutions, and the feminization of religion in Europe.

• Gender
• Feminisation
• Post-Secular
• Muslim
• Irish Catholic
• religion and gender

“Contemporary Encounters in Gender and Religion is a novel, well-written and thorough volume that deserves to be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in gender and religion in contemporary society. … It offers an abundance of empirical insights, and it is to be considered a must-read for graduate students as well as senior researchers in the field of religious studies, sociology of religion, gender studies, and anthropology.” (Louise Lund Liebmann, Nordic Journal of Religion and Society, Vol. 30 (2), 2017)

• Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

  Lena Gemzöe, Marja-Liisa Keinänen

• Heidelberg, Germany

  Avril Maddrell

Lena Gemzöe is an anthropologist and associate professor of gender studies at Stockholm University, Sweden. Her publications in the area of gender and religion deal with death-related practices and pilgrimage in various forms. Her research interests also include feminist theory, reflexive ethnography, and culture theory.




Marja-Liisa Keinänen is Associate Professor of History of Religions and Senior Lecturer at Stockholm University, Sweden. Her research is in gender, ethnicity, and vernacular religion, especially women’s rituals and ritual agency.




Avril Maddrell is Associate Professor in Social and Cultural Geography at University of West England, Bristol, UK, and Co-Editor of the journal Gender, Place and Culture. Her research addresses sacred mobilities, landscape, deathscapes, gender, and geographical thought.

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