Women in religion: from spiritual leadership to female empowerment

deadline for submissions: 
March 30, 2023
full name / name of organization: 
ICSAH
contact email: 

It is more than a cliché that gender plays a crucial role in religion, as most religious orders in the world were, and currently are, dominated by men. The role of women in cultic settings is, as a rule, secondary, as is also the authority of female ministers of religion, while the social benefits of those appointed with religious duties are also incomparable with the privileges received by men.  This year, we invite proposals that explore the female share in leadership roles related to religion (saints, prophetesses, priestesses, nuns, preachers, witches, shamans and more), and emphasize how their achievements are reflected in history and art. How prominent female figures have compromised men’s secured positions of power in socioreligious structures? What was their role in shaping gender-responsive societies? We encourage also papers that examine through gender lens the impact of religion on civic life by analysing the deeds of women of faith from a political perspective, or deal with cases of political power over religion, in cases of women who achieved to change traditional religious concepts, practices, customs or symbols. We welcome papers that deal with all religious systems from ancient to present times. 

 

To submit a proposal for a paper or a poster, please send an abstract of 350 words or less to icsahcy1@gmail.com by March 30th, 2023. 

The proposed contributions should not have been previously published or accepted for publication elsewhere. Abstracts should include a title, a summary of the presentation, name of the author/s, institutional affiliation and email.  

 

Accepted languages: English, French, Italian.  

Conference fee for participants: 50€  

For further information about the conference, please see our website www.icsah.eu/ 

Please address any further enquiries to icsahcy1@gmail.com