Laughter, Creativity, and Perseverance: Female Agency in Buddhism and Hinduism (AAR RELIGION CULTURE AND HISTORY SERIES) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0197603726 ISBN 13: 9780197603727

Publisher: OUP USA, 2022

Synopsis

In most mainstream traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism, women have for centuries largely been excluded from positions of religious and ritual leadership. However, as this volume shows, in an increasing number of late-20th-century and early-21st-century contexts, women can and do undergo monastic and priestly education; they can receive ordination/initiation as Buddhist nuns or Hindu priestesses; and they are accepted as religious and political leaders. Even though these processes still take place largely outside or at the margins of traditional religious institutions, it is clear that women are actually establishing new religious trends and currents. They are attracting followers, and they are occupying religious positions on par with men.

At times women are filling a void left behind by male religious specialists who left the profession, and at times they are perceived as their rivals. In some cases, this process takes place in collaboration with male religious specialists, in others against the will of the women's male counterparts. However, in most cases we see both acceptance and resistance. Whether silently or with great fanfare, women are grasping new opportunities to occupy positions of leadership. This book offers ten in-depth case studies analysing culturally, historically, and geographically unique situations in order to explore the historical background, contemporary trajectories, and impact of the emergence of new and powerful forms of female agency in mostly conservative Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions.

About this title

About the Author

Ute Hüsken is Professor and Head of the Department of Cultural and Religious History of South Asia (Classical Indology, South Asia Institute) at Heidelberg University. Hüsken's main research fields are Buddhist studies, the study of Hinduism, Ritual and Festival studies, and Gender studies. Together with Ronald Grimes and Sarah Pike, she edits The Oxford Ritual Studies Series.

Edition details

• Publisher: OUP USA
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0197603726
• ISBN 13: 9780197603727
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 294
• Editor: Hüsken Ute