Women’s Leadership in New Religions and the Question of Gender Equality in Post-Communist Lithuania
This article discusses features of women's religious leadership, social innovations, and transmission of existing gender relations patterns within diverse new religions in post-communist society in Lithuania. The article is based on participant observation in Pagan and Hindu-origin religious gr...
| Published in: | Nova religio |
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| Subtitles: | "Religious Leadership in New Religions: Theoretical and Empirical Trajectories" |
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
University of Californiarnia Press
2021
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| In: |
Nova religio
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Lithuania
/ New religion
/ Woman religious leader
/ Gender-specific role
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AZ New religious movements KBK Europe (East) |
| Further subjects: | B
Patriarchy
B Gender Equality B post-Communist society B RELIGIOUS leadership B Women religious leaders B Lithuania B New Religions |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article discusses features of women's religious leadership, social innovations, and transmission of existing gender relations patterns within diverse new religions in post-communist society in Lithuania. The article is based on participant observation in Pagan and Hindu-origin religious groups and interviews with women leaders of these groups. The narratives of women leading Pagan and Hindu religious groups in Lithuania reflected their agency, features of their leadership, and the basis for the construction of their religious authority. Research data showed that the women interviewed took leadership of their respective religious groups after gaining professional experience in their careers. Their agency was not permeated by feminist ideas, but instead the importance of men in their life choices was emphasized throughout their narratives. The three case studies indicate that female religious leadership in these new religions follows the tendency toward a return to patriarchal values in post-communist society in Lithuania, rather than moving towards an ideal of gender equality. |
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| ISSN: | 1541-8480 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Nova religio
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1525/nr.2021.24.4.84 |