Women, Religion, and the Gift

This book introduces the special dynamics of women and their close relationships with the gift in both past and contemporary religious settings. Written from a cross-cultural perspective, it challenges depictions of women's roles in religion where they have been relegated to compliance with specifically designated gendered attributes. The different chapters contest the resultant stereotypes that deny women agency. Each chapter describes women as engaged in an aspect of religion, from that of ritual specialists, to benefactors and patrons, or even innovators. The volume examines topics such as sainthood and sacrifice so as to refine these ideas in constructive ways that do not devalue women. It also examines the meaning of the term 'gift' today, embracing the term in both figurative and literal ways. Such a collection of diverse women's writings and activities provides a significant contribution to their quest for recognition, and also suggests ways this can be understood and realized today.

Morny Joy is University Professor in the Dept. of Classics and Religion at the University of Calgary, Canada. She researches and has published in the areas of philosophy and religion, postcolonialism, and intercultural studies in South and South-East Asia, as well as in diverse aspects of women and religion. Morny has served from 2005 on the Executive Committee of the International Association for the Study of Religion. In 2011 she received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Helsinki. Recent publications include: Continental Philosophy and Philosophy of Religion (Springer 2011) and After Appropriation: Explorations in Intercultural Philosophy and Religion (University of Calgary 2011).