This collection gathers together for the first time the writings on religion of the major voices of French feminism. Includes also introductory essays by the editors, which contextualize and demonstrate the importance of these writings.
French Feminists on Religion: A Reader offers the first representative selection of important writings by French feminist thinkers on the topic of religion, including the most influential and provocative texts on the subject from Luce Irigaray, Julia Kristeva, Hélène Cixous, Monique Wittig and Catherine Clément. Each thinker is introduced by a bibliographical preface, while individual essays are preceded by an editorial commentary explaining the context and significance of each piece for the study of religion.
The collected texts cover a broad range of religious practices and discourses focusing primarily on Jewish and Christian concerns, but including elements of ancient Goddess traditions, Witchcraft, Hinduism and Buddhism. Critically examined themes include:
* Jewish and Christian notions of sin, defilement, purity and redemption;
* the relationship between subjectivity and divinity, as conceived in the feminine;
* the feminist re-imaging of the Virgin Mary, and of Catholic theologies of love;
* the repression of the maternal in Judeo-Christian culture.
Brought together for the first time in French Feminist on Religion: A Reader, these essays demonstrate the central importance of French feminism for the study of religion, and at the same time make evident the significance of religious themes, figures and concepts to the world of French feminists.
'A strength of the book is its effective balancing of essays that critique traditional religious structures and those that construct radical new modes of thinking about the divine.' - Kelley Raab, St. Lawrence University, Religious Studies Review'Will be widely read and widely used by scholars in the field ... marvelous and stimulating.' - Diane Jonte-Pace, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Development, Santa Clara University
