RE 3723: Religion, Gender & Sexuality

Patriarchal religious traditions are often characterized by masculine images of the Divine, cisgendered male religious authority, male-authored scriptures and a heteronormative gendered division of religious practices. As a result, men and cultural masculinity are differently valued than women and cultural femininity; this male-female binary leaves little room for practitioners who identify as nonbinary. In this discussion-focused course, we will engage representations of gender and sexuality in different traditions and their impact on larger social contexts from philosophical, theological and ethnographic perspectives. Among the questions we will explore: Why does the idea of a female or feminine YHWH, God or Allah bother us? Can feminine representations (such as the Devi, Shakti or Shekhinah) or nonbinary representations (such as two-spirit people in indigenous communities) facilitate gender equity? Do mystical traditions (such as the Zohar or Sufism) encourage gender fluidity? How do religions influence sexuality; how does sexuality intersect with creation myths and cosmogonies? Why is a Buddhist nun expected to bow to a Buddhist monk; why does the Catholic Church not recognize women, nonbinary and / or queer priests? This combination of theoretical and methodological conversations will offer students a forum in which to recast assumptions about individual and collective identity that permeate our cultural systems and structures.