Overview

This collection of essays challenges the traditional patriarchal approach to sacred literature by highlighting gender parity in sacred texts and envisioning the rise of the matriarchy in the future. The authors redefine Biblical Greek words like malakoi and arsenokoitai used in condemnation of homosexuality, and Qur'anic words like darajah and qawwamun, used for establishing patriarchy. One author reexamines the role of the Nepalese Teej festival of fasting and worship of the god Shiva in promoting male hegemony in Hinduism. Other papers examine passages like Proverbs 31:1-31, the stories of Sarah and Rahab in the Bible, the role of Mary in the Qur'an, and the Dharmic conversion in chapter 27 of the Lotus Sutra. This book makes it clear that sacred literature is subject to human understanding as it evolves through space and time. Today, as more women are educated and actively engaged in political, economic, and social life, religions are challenged to redefine gender roles and norms.

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9781527521490

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Muhammad Shafiq is a Professor and Executive Director of the Hickey Center at Nazareth College, USA. He holds a PhD from Temple University, USA, and an MA and BA from the University of Peshawar, Pakistan. He has written more than 45 articles and several books. He is the co-editor of Sacred Texts and Human Contexts: A North American Response to A Common Word between Us and You (2014), Poverty and Wealth in Judaism, Christianity and Islam (2017), and Nature and the Environment in Contemporary Religious Contexts (2017).Thomas Donlin-Smith is a Professor and Chair of Religious Studies at Nazareth College, USA. His teaching and research interests include theory and method in the study of religion, biomedical ethics, interfaith studies, religion and the environment, and the intersections of religion, science, and politics. He received his BA from Ohio State University, his MDiv from Wesley Theological Seminary, and his PhD from the University of Virginia, USA.

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