Contestations of Feminism, Secularism and Religion in the West: The Discursive Othering of Religious and Secular Women

Secular and religious women have a history of fighting for women's rights and gender equality. Yet, contemporary feminist and women's movements in the West are largely understood as secular and as rejecting religion, and religion is often perceived as the antithesis of empowerment and eman...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nordic journal of religion and society
Main Author: Nyhagen, Line (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Universitetsforlaget [2019]
In: Nordic journal of religion and society
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Religiosity / Woman / Feminism / Secularism
RelBib Classification:AA Study of religion
AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism
AG Religious life; material religion
Further subjects:B Feminism
B Secular Feminism
B Religion
B religious feminism
B Othering
B Secularism
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:Secular and religious women have a history of fighting for women's rights and gender equality. Yet, contemporary feminist and women's movements in the West are largely understood as secular and as rejecting religion, and religion is often perceived as the antithesis of empowerment and emancipation. In this article, I problematise the relationship between feminism, secularism and religion via a discussion of secular feminist views on women and religion, and religious women's views on secular feminism. Bringing together previously separate strands of work, this article provides an original analysis of how both secular feminist women and non-feminist religious women engage in discursive articulations of Othering, constructing inferior subjects who are (dis)placed outside the boundary of "women like us." Such discursive representations, which are rooted in perceptions of feminism and religion as unitary and static, contribute to the construction and maintenance of sharp boundaries between secular and religious women, thus hindering the potential for dialogue and collaboration in support of women's rights and gender equality.
ISSN:1890-7008
Contains:Enthalten in: Nordic journal of religion and society
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.18261/issn.1890-7008-2019-01-01