Fundamentalism and Gender

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195082621 ISBN 13: 9780195082623

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1994

Fundamentalism, as the word implies, is about getting back to the basics, and for Americans this has meant getting back to God's word as proclaimed in the Bible. The essays in this book examine the connection between fundamentalism and gender. Looking in detail at Islam, Hinduism, the New Religions of Japan, and American Christianity, they reveal their control over women--their sexuality, reproductive power and social and economic roles.

Review:

`this book is most welcome for that fact that there have not been many serious studies on this subject'Free Press Journal

'Hawley has edited a book of scope and value, all the more interesting for its inclusion of dialectical opinions. Although a scholarly work, it is down to earth, and as such may throw light on those voices that are now clamouring within and around many individuals.'Ranjabati Sircar, Telegraph

'...good reading, because it illustrates thought in progress...On the fundamentalism debate itself, this book contains many relevant passages which are helpfully indexed...' (Werner Menski,Bulletin of the School of Oriental & African Studies, Vol.61, 1)

Synopsis:

Coined to describe a conservative Protestant Christian movement, the word "fundamentalist" is increasingly applied to a wide range of traditionalist religious movements which stand in reaction against the secularizing forces of modernity. These groups, whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or Hindu, tend to share an emphasis on "family values" and to denounce those societal trends which lead to increased independence for women. The papers collected in this volume, all previously unpublished, focus on fundamentalist attitudes toward women. Together they reveal that control over women, in terms of sexuality, reproduction, and social and economic roles, is in fact central to the fundamentalist project. Looking in detail at attitudes within four representative groups, the authors suggest that fundamentalist movements are concerned with establishing islands of certainty and control against what is experienced as social and cultural chaos. Control of women becomes the primary "territory" on which this project is acted out.

Bringing together the work of such well-known authors as Wayne Proudfoot, Randall Balmer, Peter Awn, and Helen Hardacre, this groundbreaking collection will appeal to those interested in women's issues and comparative fundamentalism.